How Silently

It’s strange how one little phrase of a song, touched with God’s grace, can open up a new understanding, almost on a subliminal level. I had an experience like that in church this morning.

“How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift was given.”

As I sang those words, I had a vision. I was up in the sky above Bethlehem, looking down at a small stable, surrounded by the darkness of a quiet night. Then, suddenly, a feeble cry wafted up through the dark quietness. It came from an animal feeding trough.

Was it a feeble cry? Quite possibly. It makes sense, from God’s perspective. The perspective that is opposite of ours.

God became feeble, helpless, vulnerable. He became a small thing, for us.