“Surprise, Surprise, God is a Surprise!” This little Sunday school song seems to contradict the scriptures promising that God is an Unchanging God, a steady Rock on which to place our trust. Christmas is a perfect example of this Divine Mystery. I marvel that God, who is Creator of Everything, the Beginning and the End, God the Almighty and Most High, is also The Ultimate Loving Father who so loved His children, that He worked miracles and changed world events just to bless those who would reach out to Him. And when His children still did not respond, He made His own Supreme Sacrifice and sent His only Son to die so that we could live forever surrounded by His Love in our Heavenly Home. God’s love never faltered, God’s Nature never changed; God is an Unchanging God. However, how He enters our lives is often unexpected and full of surprises.
The Jews expected a Messiah to come, but not a baby born in a manger; they expected an earthly king, not a Humble Servant. And then, years later, the women going to anoint Jesus’s body with burial spices did not expect to find the tomb empty!
Jesus died, but He didn’t stay dead. He was innocent, but took the guilt of the world on Himself. We expected to be punished; we did not expect His Forgiveness. He gives us a gift that we cannot earn, that we do not deserve. His Grace is beyond our understanding. God is still a Surprise!