WYSIWYG?

We saw the new Narnia movie yesterday—Part III: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In 3-D. Which meant we had to wear those nerdy, geeky, dark glasses.

Great movie. One of the rare ones that I thought that actually bettered the book. Really!

But I missed a cool line from the text version. That entire conversation seems to have been jettisoned. Shame!

In the book, in Narnia, an incredulous Eustace skeptically listens to Ramandu who claims to be a “star of rest”—a retired denizen of the skies.

“In our world,” said Eustace, “a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.”
“Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.”

There is a difference between what something is and what something is made of.

In other words, WYSIWYG may not be the whole picture. What You See Is What You Get may need a bit of adjustment. WYSInotWYG.

Empirical observations about the world may not necessarily be all that there is to the universe. Things may be more than what they seem to be. Copernican, Newtonian, and Einsteinian observations alone may not provide us with the full equation. WYSInotWYG.

Especially “Christmas.” Not WYSIWYG at all. On the surface things look pretty mundane—another church festival. So, what’s new? The same old glitz, glamour, and glim. Tinsel, trinkets, and trim.

What else could it be after all? Long time ago. In Bethlehem. Another baby. Another teenage mom. Another stressed out dad. Big deal! Nobody important. No VIP. No limos all black. No coaches all gold. No gun-toting militia. No purple-clad horsemen. No throne. No crown.

Just a babe in a manger. Some cows. Some oxen. Some locals. WYSIWYG, right?

Wrong! Christians claim that WYSInotWYG. This was no ordinary baby.

For a child will be born to us,
a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders.
Isaiah 9:6

This was no standard-issue son, no run-of-the-mill 46XY. This was a divinely appointed, eternally reigning King!

There will be no end to
the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it
with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
Isaiah 9:7

Wow! This wasn’t no ordinary deal that night in Bethlehem. WYSInotWYG.

This was a King who not only came to rule, but also to save.

The Child who has been conceived
… is of the Holy Spirit …
and you shall call His name Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1:20–21

My sins and yours, he paid for. Redeemed. Saved. Eternally. Forever.

WYSIWYG? Oh, no, not at all. WYSInotWYG. Another baby, we could ignore. Another soul added to the world’s tally of billions, we could forget. But not the birth of this One.

We who have believed that this baby, God incarnate, died and was resurrected, paying for for our sins—to him we can have only one response.

That of the wise men:

After coming into the house
they saw the Child …;
and they fell to the ground
and worshiped Him.
Matthew 2:11

And that of the disciples:

And they [Jesus’ disciples] came up
and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:9

And that of believers everywhere, always:

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of Nations
Ye have seen His natal star.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
James Montgomery, 1816

Yes, indeed. Come and worship!