By Cyndi Richardson

In little villages all across the eastern edge of Indonesia, the cords of illiteracy strangle hope away from children. On the western side, malnutrition overwhelms an island where the soil is too foul for farming. The lack of vitamins exposed in the wild discolored the hair of the children. And in regions where shamans have ruled for generations, the snares of animism confront any child who wonders if there’s a more freeing way to live.

But we rejoice, because even in 2022, Christmas still flat out changes everything. God stepping into an all-out mess of a world is still the hope of everyone, and it’s the reason Mustard Seed presses on, serving one more child, one more village, all in the beautiful name of Jesus.

Our God is not a God who doesn’t see or hear. Listen to King David’s description of God’s dramatic response to his cries of distress:

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry (Psalm 18:6-7).

That’s how God felt about David’s distress. And the stunning moment of decisive action that follows is God’s response to the distress of all humanity:

He parted the heavens and came down (Psalm 18:9, 2 Samuel 22:10).

We hear it in carolers singing Silent Night at the front door. We glimpse at it in a Nativity set on the mantle. We behold it in a Christian teacher trekking into a village with books and vitamins, the Holy Spirit filling her heart with confidence that God parted the heavens and came down for these children, this village, this season of sowing seeds. Merry Christmas!