I have seen that G.K. Chesterton wrote his Everlasting Man because H.G. Wells wrote his Shorter History of the World. I read Wells’ book first and was taken with his description of the Jews as “the people of the book.” Even as an atheist, he gave them credit for emphasising literacy as a centrepiece of their society. He also recognised that this Word from God had implications for everyone, not just for the elite to rule over the underclass.

Then I read why Chesterton thought he needed to recast the vision of world history written by Wells. In Chesterton’s work, Jesus the Christ is literally the centre of world events. This was the distinctive that he wanted to make in contrast to ‘Mr Wells’.

Chesterton of course was a masterful wordsmith, well read and well published. Reading his work is like eating a satisfying meal, even though sometimes one has to go slowly to digest the deeper meaning.

My favourite chapter is the one called God in a Cave. I was reminded about it when re-reading Luke 2 recently, where the account describes in a matter-of-fact way Joseph taking the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the newborn baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

When we tell this story to children, we will often end with something like “Isn’t that wonderful, boys and girls?” Indeed, I did that recently with a room full of teachers, and they politely smiled.

But it is not ‘sweetly wonderful’ – it is outrageous! At a physical level, the manger was probably a space hewn in a rock where animals could be crowded together for some level of protection. And as in The Chosen recreations of this event, Joseph would have been busily trying to bring some semblance of cleanliness before finding some clean hay and a blanket on which Mary could give birth. Was she the one who cleaned the manger, or her betrothed? Did he also push the animals out of the way?

Whatever the actual actions of Mary and Joseph, the place of baby Jesus’ birth was so different to the highly controlled and sanitised environments of most modern
Western births.

How could such a start to life indicate the coming of the Creator amongst us? It simply does not make sense according to any of the philosophies and religions of
the time. Nor does it make sense to any of our current ideologies.

Certainly, the god of Islam would not deem it worthy to go through the birthing process in such sordid conditions. None of the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon would agree to such a process for them (perhaps only if they were punishing each other or making humans more of a plaything). The Eastern religions of finding peace away from physicality would not agree to such demeaning sufferings, and certainly not in such a personal manner.

The materialists of our day – those caught up in scientism, or anti-theism – believe this to be simply myth. Some of them think Christianity is convenient socially, but not real.

But this birth was earth-shatteringly real. It was inconceivable at a human level, it was outrageous at a religious level, and it was dumbfounding at a philosophical level. But it was real.
Chesterton unpacks the event, explaining that only a Creator God who loved His people so much could conceive and enact such a plan. Chesterton also notes that this start of the ministry of Jesus announces His offer of relationship that cuts across all sections of humanity. No social identity, background, or status can keep anyone outside of this vision of hope in Him is they believe in Him. No-one, ever.

If anyone saw Him (or sees Him) for who He was (and is), they were and are welcomed back into the Creator’s arms. Paul applied this truth and cut through the religiosity and social niceties of his day when he described it writing to the Galatian church – it matters not your sex, your religious upbringing, or your social status – in Christ we are one (Galatians 3:28). In Christ, any of those differences become irrelevant to any notion of worth. Those differences may bring interesting diversity and creativity – but never, ever, categories of worth!

Isn’t this a message we need to hear again, loudly, this Christmas? Don’t we need to smell afresh the outrageous aroma of love, expressed by a start to life that was in the most humble, dirty, grotty, but wondrous circumstances?
Yes please, dear God.
Deep grace and peace in Him this Christmas time,
Stephen