My dad used to say, “Never criticize the Indian,
‘til you walk a mile in their moccasins.” It’s an old saying, but the
invitation behind it contains great wisdom, especially in a world that seems to
reinforce self-centered perspectives on how we should be living life. The
meaning behind the old proverb is simple; until you can live and experience
life as if you are inside of another individual’s head and heart, you will
never know how they feel or think, nor why they do what they do.
For example, my old surfing buddy is ten years
my junior. One day, after a heavy day of surfing, I remember telling him,
“just wait until you’re 40!” Then, ten years later, on another surfing
occasion, I said, “just wait until you’re 50!” It’s funny how our
perspectives can get turned back on us. Now, as I near 60 years of age,
and complain about the years of wear and tear on my body to those with a few
more years under their belt, they often reply with the same phrase, “just
wait!” 
What these more mature citizens mean is
that when I reach their status in life I will begin to see things from their
perspective and understand from a first person experience what it is like to be
them and walk in their shoes. In other words, my complaints are relative
and only a glimpse of some others experience in a more profound way.
We are by nature, egocentric. This is not
a criticism, but more a testimony that we see the world through our eyes, our ears
and our experiences. It is very hard to step into
someone else’s “shoes,” and gain an empathetic sense of the world and someone
else’s life experience. When these rare opportunities do come our way, we
become open to epiphanic-type manifestations. It is in these moments that we
may experience extraordinary empathy.
Take Christmas for example. We all
experience Christmas in a general way. Yet, each of us also experiences
Christmas in a subjective way through personal perspective. In the real
world this means living the season with both positive and less positive
feelings based on your personal interaction with the influences that bear on
your life.
Christmas is lived and experienced for our side,
with the perspective of humanity in all shapes, conditions, level of faith or
sense (expectation) of the season. No matter what our individual
interaction and emotional response – even for people of faith in God through
Jesus Christ – it’s always from our perspective.
I invite you to join me in a guided
experiment. Let’s step outside of ourselves for just a moment. Now, I want you to imagine Christmas not from your experience, your history, your hurts
and not even your expectations, but imagine Christmas from God’s
side. What do you think or feel Christmas is like from God’s perspective?
If you did know, how might your experience of Christmas change or even
deepen?
I know it seems an impossible task given our
nature to see life from the subjective side of things. However, we do have some
solid evidence as to how God views Christmas.
During Advent, I am offering a sermon series
exploring this idea of Christmas from God’s side. Many of us have
longed for Christmas to be not so much about us, but about what God did and is
doing through Jesus’ entry into our world and our humanity. It’s a fair
exploration, because if God, through His incarnation in the person of Jesus
Christ, was willing to “walk a mile in our moccasins,” in order to reach us in
our humanness and bring wholeness, why shouldn’t we be willing to see
“Christmas from God’s side.”
