Packed Out (ADVENT-URE DAY 18)

In the Scriptures, we find that the Christmas narrative is full of people who stood alone - Jesus, the Son of God, became a solitary man, sent to the world in order to redeem fallen humanity.  Mary was chosen by God to bear the Christ Child.  Joseph followed God's direction and married Mary, even though he had inclinations to refuse to do so.  We've talked about some of these people during this Advent season - John the Baptist, his father Zechariah, Simeon, Anna.  

On this day, Day 18 of our Faith Radio Christmas Advent-ure, in the Faith Radio Advent Guide, we see another group of people - if we regard "The Story of the Ages" as a grand and glorious play, they might be considered "extras," but they had a role in God's purpose. That would be the inflated population of the city of Bethlehem, chosen by God and prophesied in Scripture to be the birthplace of Jesus.  

We can read in Luke chapter 2:
3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

We're told in verse 7 there was no room in a local inn, so Jesus was born in a manger, in a place where animals were kept.

You might think this event would have been hidden to most in Bethlehem, but God appeared that night and the coming of Jesus changed the world.  A principle we can learn from this aspect of the story is that the world might try to crowd out Jesus, but we can be faithful.

The notion of a Google search is something that may not be as popular as before the advent of AI.  And, from the recently announced search results, you can certainly see who or what stood out from the crowd in 2025.  A Fox Business article stated:

Charlie Kirk topped this year’s list as the No. 1 trending search in the U.S. The Turning Point USA founder was shot and killed while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, fueling a nationwide surge in search activity.

Rounding out the top five were Netflix’s hit film "KPop Demon Hunters," the viral plush collectible Labubu, Apple’s iPhone 17 and the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which was signed into law in July.

Other major spikes in search activity included New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, the AI platform DeepSeek, the government shutdown, the FIFA Club World Cup, and tariffs, according to Google.

We should never chase fame and fortune or recognition, because I believe that God calls us to humility.  But, we should always be people of conviction, dedicated to bringing glory to God.  Certainly, the death of Charlie Kirk is still a fresh subject - you find even those who didn't agree with his politics still mourned his death.  The way we respond to the death of famous individuals has been shaped by the gold standard of how America responded to Charlie Kirk.  And, for Christians and non-Christians alike, this continues to be a highly relevant subject, as author and podcast host Drew Thomas Allen will be sharing about next week on The Meeting House.

New Barna Group research indicates the unbelievable impact that this man had on our culture.  A survey summary states: "just one-third of Americans said they followed Kirk very or somewhat closely," but among younger generations: "Among Gen Z, 40 percent reported following Kirk very or somewhat closely before his death, with Millennials showing similar engagement at 41 percent. Practicing Christians across all age groups also showed the highest engagement, with 47 percent following his work."

The summary also notes:

When asked whether they had taken any action since Kirk’s passing, 71 percent of U.S. adults said they had not. However, among those who did act, spiritual responses dominated. Eighteen percent reported taking a spiritual action, while just 5 percent took a political action. Another 6 percent said they had taken both.

So that adds up to 1 out of 4 Americans surveyed who had taken spiritual action since the death of Kirk.  And, while Americans were somewhat split on the potential effect of Kirk's death in a variety of areas, including political discourse, almost half believed it would have a positive impact on "Christianity among younger Americans."  Practicing Christians were more optimistic about the long-term effects of Kirk's departure, with 71% indicating that he would impact the younger generations of Americans.

While I am certainly not likening Charlie Kirk to a messianic figure and certainly not comparing his death to that of our Savior, in the context today's Advent commentary, the takeaway is that Kirk is someone who did more than follow the crowd - he was not content to be insignificant; he chose not to follow the crowd, and in so doing became a countercultural figure who allowed his Christianity to guide his engagement with our culture.

The scene in Bethlehem was crowded, and perhaps the birth of Jesus went unnoticed by most people there.  But, that is certainly not the case any longer.   We are not called to be crowd-pleasers and certainly we should not be motivated by making a name for ourselves, rather, we should be devoted to, as it's been said, making Christ famous.  To do so, we have to be willing to admit that God made us unique and called us to shine the light of Christ, to be different, to make sure our crowded culture sees the evidence of Jesus through us.  

You may have heard the other day, worship leader John Chisum, in talking about his amazing song, God With Us, asked me if I had ever seen Jesus.  I replied initially that I had not seen Him in human form, but I had to backtrack, because, quite frankly, we are called to be Jesus in human form, to live lives of distinction and influence.