My Father’s Son
Dan Kunz
About a week and a half ago, my wife and I went to a friend's landscaping and nursery business to buy our Christmas tree. Since our house has a beautiful great room, we can get almost any size tree we want. Two of our daughters also have houses with great rooms and so a “friendly” competition has developed. Who has the biggest tree this year? I put an end to the discussion the first year in our new house with a fourteen-footer! Did I mention I’m very competitive? Anyway, this year’s tree is a beautiful Frazier fir of twelve feet. Even without decorations it’s beautiful! While my wife was gone for the evening, I decided to put up the tree, so it was ready for her to decorate the next day. I cut a few inches off the bottom, trimmed some unruly branches, and set it in its stand. Once I got it upright, I noticed it wasn’t as straight as I wanted, so I got on my belly under the tree and started the slow process of loosening one set of “anchors” and tightening the other side to adjust the tree to be perfectly vertical. Unfortunately, I loosened a little too much on the side closest to me and all twelve feet of Frazier fir came crashing down on me. (It actually wasn’t so much of a crash as a slow motion topple!) Because it wasn’t decorated yet, I kind of slipped out from under it. No harm, no foul! I had to laugh at myself when I remembered a “family classic” from many, many years ago.
As my dad lay in bed, he remembered he hadn’t shut off the lights on the Christmas tree, a definite no-no in the years before mini-lights which give off no heat. People were always worried about extremely hot lights starting their tree on fire. When he reached behind the tree to unplug the lights, he lost his balance and the whole tree, fully decorated, came crashing down on him. He had to yell for my mom, who was already asleep, to come and get the tree off him so lights and ornaments weren’t needlessly broken! It must have been quite a sight because the story has remained in the family all these years. As I thought about those events, I realized, “I am my father’s son!” How many families have two generations of “Christmas klutzes”?
Do you know who else is his father’s son? Jesus. John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” The tiny baby, born in a stable and laid in a manger, whose birth we celebrate every Christmas, really is a “chip off the old block”. Like his Father, Jesus is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. The best characteristic of all, however, which the two share, is their absolute love for us! The Bible contains literally dozens and dozens of passages which proclaim the Father’s love for his children. Jesus shares in every one of those passages.
Think how Jesus expressed that love! He gave up everything heaven has to offer. He came to earth and shared our humanity for thirty-three years. He was laid in a food trough for animals. He was reviled, insulted, spit upon, punched, and beaten. He was executed like a common criminal on a cross. This is the best Christmas present we could ever have - the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus, a love beyond description! As the hymn writer so appropriately asked, “What wonderous love is this?” Jesus really is his Father’s Son.