The child who changes everything.

Years ago our neighbors across the street adopted a little boy name Gage. His first four years of life had been very hard, so hard that he had developed severe stomach issues out of sheer anxiety – so severe that he had to have a feeding tube because he couldn’t hold down regular food. He had thick glasses and he loved to flash the sign language symbol for love.

His adoption into his new family gave him a new life. It was like he was unleashed to be the very busy, active and inquisitive little fellow he actually was. He would pepper you with nonstop questions, just bursting with life.

Soon after they adopted him, Gage caught a bad cold. Gage was asthmatic and the infection soon got very serious.  They took him to the hospital in Ocala. Soon, he was on a helicopter to Shands in Gainesville. His mother is a pastor’s daughter and quickly their whole church was praying. Quickly our whole church was praying. Their extended family and friends and our neighborhood were praying. All of us were deeply concerned for this vibrant little boy whose life was suddenly fragile and at risk.

Gage improved quickly overnight, the crisis ended and after a few days he came home and got back to his new life. After about five months they even removed his feeding tube. At first glance, we can see this story as a testimony to the power of prayer – It is easy to see God’s healing grace poured out on this dear little boy. We can also look at it the other way to see how this little boy changed the world around him.

When Gage’s mommy and daddy chose to love Gage, they went all the way, the way it ought to be.  Their love was not a mere sentiment about a cute little fellow, though that was clearly part of it.  It also meant action.  Every day they provided food, taking on all the extra care of the feeding tube. They provided shelter and clothing. And – for the first time in his little life – Gage had toys. 

When Gage got sick, his new parents’ love drove them to heroic, sacrificial care: riding in an ambulance, getting him to the very best doctors they could, crying and praying through the night on one of those amazingly uncomfortable plastic hospital chair-bed things.  His mother, who had known him for just a short time, could barely speak when she called us from the hospital because she was crying so hard. His father, who was a big, burly and gruff guy, was shaken, afraid.

That love and care radiated out through all of their family to friends and neighbors. Everyone they knew, their whole world, and tons of people they didn’t even know, were on their knees praying that night because of this boy’s need.

When God looks at us, it is similar to how Gage’s parents looked at him. We think we can see, but whether or not you wear glasses, we don’t see as God sees so we might as well need Coke bottle lenses. We think we can hear, but we don’t hear as God hears. We may be highly coordinated, but we are hopelessly clumsy at working as God’s hands. We are bound up in anxieties and worries that bind us from growing into the people he is calling us to be.

The people who walked in darkness
   have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
   on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

Every year Christmas and other holidays sharpen the weight of remembrance for those we love but see no longer. Every year that grief and sorrow is acute for many. This year is especially so as there have been so many more deaths this year. Any and everyone who is in any sort of medical facility for any reason – from hospitals to rehabilitation centers, nursing homes or assisted living – have restrictions on who can see them and when. Many more are coping with the limitations and cautions and precautions. Many are accepting the risks of gathering. Many have some combination of all of the above with their opinions percolating just below the surface.

With all of that, isolation, grief, sorrow and uncertainty are all much more present for many more of us this year than most. And if such circumstances are not so for you today, remember that they come to us all eventually.

We see how Gage’s parents’ willingness to do anything for their adopted son can be summarized in one word: love. Their love for Gage reflects God’s love for his people. God was willing to do anything and everything for his people.  He knows that the thing we need most is his love. To open that path, he went all the way, the way it had to be.

For a child has been born for us,
   a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
   and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

What we really need most of all is to love God. That’s the first commandment, to love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your mind and all your strength. Could God have made the first commandment any easier? A little baby! His love is perfect.  It can be no less. And he came to us in the form of a baby. How easy is it to love a baby, to love the baby Jesus? This isn’t to ignore all that will come later, but the wonder of a baby who is doing nothing but attracting our love and adoration, before he does anything else, as opening the door to our hearts.

As we love him, his love takes up residence in our hearts and becomes incarnate in us.  Over time it transforms us to become more like him. And it spreads.

Your heart went out to little Gage, didn’t it? God wants us to see everyone as we would see little Gage, looking for ways we can help God’s love to transform them. And again that affects us.

And remember, his love knows no bounds. No matter where you are, there is no separation, no isolation. No matter where you are tonight, he is with you. May you look upon that baby and feel his love.

AMEN