A crisp November day in South Dakota. Virtus Strenge and his son, Chad, were at home and working around the house when they heard their 17-pound Jack Russell terrier barking furiously outside. More curious than concerned, they went out to investigate, assuming the plucky little dog was chasing squirrels again. But they found him at the bottom of a tree, looking up, and yapping frantically.
Bob WeathersChad casually glanced up but was startled to see an adult cougar staring back at him. Seventeen-pound Jack had treed a 150-pound lion. Chad brought the cat down with a shotgun, a snarling Jack at his side.
According to Jonathan Jenks, a professor at South Dakota State University, it usually takes two or three hounds to tree a big cat like that. “He trees cats all the time,” Chad offered. And Jack probably “figured it was just a cat.”
I’m sure that cougar never thought so much fight would come in such a small package.
And I wonder what Satan was thinking when Jesus was born. A baby? Really? The eternal fate of all humanity hangs in the balance, and God sends a baby into the battle?
No prancing horses, glistening armies, or flashing swords. Just an infant and his young, kind parents. Then a calm carpenter. Quietly carving doors and planing boards in Nazareth. Living under the radar. Then His ministry. And the cross, the day God pressed against the gates of hell and exerted the power of heaven against the rebel and his allies. And like that, it was over.
The truth is, Satan was defeated as soon as Jesus was born. His sinless life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection made the defeat complete. A humiliating day for the forces of darkness. “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
Be careful not to make the same miscalculation. Don’t let “Silent Night, Holy Night” lull you into the notion that Christmas is quiet and quaint. It is not.
When we set up the nativity, we are not remembering a cute curiosity. We are honoring the triumph of our war Hero, the charge of God against dark forces. The baby was the victor in the war for our souls.
Don’t let the small package fool you.