Jesus – The “Undercover Boss”… Good morning readers. The other day I heard on TV that they are bringing back the reality show, Undercover Boss. I actually liked that one because we were able to see how a CEO of a corporation should act in caring for their employees. The subterfuge was fun, and of course, just getting these CEO’s into a disguise was nothing short of a Hollywood special-effects make-up artist!

Another interesting and heartwarming part of the show was the interaction of boss to employee and the honesty and confidence of those employees to share truthfully about the job, the company and even more-so—their lives. Many were struggling, broken families, health—you name it they were barely hanging on. The outcome of this new relationship would be promotions, college tuition, finances, vehicles, etc. I thought it tasteful that the gift was tailored to the true need of the employee.

Then, last night CBS featured the Secret Santa again. This loving man has changed lives for years now, and this year he went to the San Carlos Apache nation by Safford, AZ. These folks live in abject poverty and isolation. Secret Santa did not reveal who he was because that wasn’t important, it was the relational love he shared with those people. Surprisingly, it wasn’t about the money which they deeply needed, it was to hear someone tell them they are worthy, they are beautiful, etc. I reached for my Kleenex as the tears rolled down my face…and then…well…I got to thinking that Advent is kind of like that show.

We may not disguise ourselves, but think about it: we certainly disguise our homes and yards with decorations; some (I used to be one of them) wear ‘ugly Christmas sweaters’ and others bake goodies from Grandma’s recipes. At Christmas the stories of the past that are long covered become un-covered again.

A friend of mine keeps her small nativity all-year-long because she believes it’s an every-day celebrating to Jesus for the hope, love, joy and peace He gives…no undercover-Jesus for her, He’s out in the open for all to see!

I think of God being my ‘undercover boss’ – working behind the scenes with His good and perfect plans for my life. There are times I think “I did it” —NOT!— “I did it because of the strength of God” is the truth. Back behind the scenes, God orchestrated Creation of the world and human beings. And then, when the time was right God sent His Son who had been with God since the beginning. Jesus—another “under-cover boss!” The Apostle Paul gives the illustration of how Jesus “pitched his tent” among us. The Gospel of John 1:14 confirms this saying:

So the Word became human and made his home among us.
He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.

At Christmas His tent was a feeding trough in a tiny town, undercover from folks until the night of His birth when angels sang and told shepherds in the fields to go find Him! It didn’t take long for this ‘under-cover boss’ to burst on the scene! His ministry was revealed daily as He walked among us healing and teaching and showing the love of God to all.

Sometimes we forget that Jesus was human like us, yet we keep Him as our ‘under-cover boss’ like the CEO’s in the reality show, who don’t really know their employees and understand their lives. Hebrews 4:15 tells us Jesus experienced every struggle, heartache and pains in life like we do:

“For we do not have a high priest who i
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been
tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

The reality show also gave promotions, money and other gifts, a wonderful thing but they pale in comparison to the gifts of Jesus’ unending love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and eternal life. In fact, the gift of Jesus is so much greater than a bonus or promotion because through Him we are adopted into the family of God—what a gift that is.

In closing, you may be like another friend of mine, who never puts the Baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas because she grew up with the rule that Christmas is the only proper day to display the Christ-child. For a whole month there is a beautiful nativity but ‘no’ Jesus…a reminder of what we often fail to do when we don’t share our faith. We need to take off our ‘worldly disguises’ and ‘put-on-the-face’ of Christ! Josh McDowell said it best, “we must be Jesus with skin-on.” Be a change-maker for someone in need—it will change you, too!