I would not be surprised if someone told me my dad had given them an outrageously generous gift. It may have shocked them, but I would only nod and smile. My dad only gives big, and he only gives quietly. While it may surprise each recipient, those of us who have lived with him simply delight in observing the exchange.

Similarly, I wonder how the angels feel when God spends grace extravagantly. Before measured time, they were with Him. They worshiped with song as God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:6-7), and they were watching as He lowered Himself to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden in the cool of the day.

They watched as Adam and Eve chose to make themselves rulers in the world God created.

Angels watched and engaged with humanity for centuries as God patiently restored and redeemed His creation. And they watched as men and women chose to make themselves lords over each other.

With expectation, those same angels observed as God lowered Himself to again walk amongst people, this time embracing vulnerability as if it was honor. When the angels spoke to Mary, or Joseph, to Zechariah, did they feel like Israel was unprepared to handle the blessing?

Despite their feelings, they sang to shepherds. As a miraculous choir, they sang to the hand-picked audience, surely a nod to prophecies that a good shepherd was coming (Ezekiel 34).  

It’s breathtaking.

With intentionality, God points to his values. He walks with humanity, patiently restores humanity (over and over and over again). He comes into society through a woman giving birth with all its pain and her strength. He provides the most beautiful birth announcement known to the world delivered to shepherds. He finds home in a simple shelter.

As surprised as we are that God would come to a barn, I wonder if the angels simply smiled. From creation to a stable, God’s values remained consistent. The pregnancy, birth, life, and death of Jesus embodied the upside-down kingdom God had preached from Genesis ch1.

At Bethlehem, God was doing what God has always done.