Parable of the Unobservant Husband

Hello Emmanuel,

The nativity scene didn’t get put up on time this year.  Kim was distraught… ok.. not distraught… but unhappy enough to mention it.  In our house, the nativity scene gets put up on our sofa table on the 1^st Sunday of Advent.  Even if there are no other decorations out of their boxes yet, the nativity scene is to be in its place.  This year the 1^st Sunday of Advent came and went and there was no nativity scene.  I would shame Kim to no end.  Except….

Yesterday I noticed the nativity scene was up.  Normally, when I notice something, I don’t speak up for fear of being made fun of because I am so unobservant at times.  But this time I threw caution to the wind.  ‘Oh,’ I said as I sat in the family room, ‘the nativity is up’.  Kim looked at me, rolled her eyes, thought a brief moment, then said, ‘You gotta be kidding me’.

This is a classic illustration of what can happen when you don’t notice Jesus when He is sitting in your own family room.  He had been there for days (not hours) and I was led to believe that I was an unobservant idiot.  While this is not altogether untrue, my feelings were a bit hurt and I quickly looked around the room to see if anything else had changed.  Nothing had (I don’t think).  Then again, not noticing Jesus when He is sitting in your own family room is a rather big deal… evidently.

So this MMP is a no-brainer.  Invite Jesus into your room.  And when He shows up, take time to notice Him.  It will lead to much healthier relationships…. With your spouse and with other people too.

May the presence of Jesus fill your December.  More importantly, may you take the time to pay attention enough to see Him when he is right in front of you.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe