And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
Ezekiel 36:26
I don’t know Dr. Seuss’s intention when he wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but I love the message. I am not saying for a second that we should get our truth from Dr. Seuss, but the guy knew a thing or two. His story is about hope and redemption and reconciliation. You see, every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-viille, DID NOT! Why? We don’t really know, and Dr. Seuss doesn’t say but proposes that it could be that his head wasn’t screwed on just right. Or perhaps that his shoes were too tight. But the most obvious reason was that his heart was two sizes too small. Bitterness does that!
Dr. Seuss tells us that the Grinch HATED the Whos. He stood at a distance and judged and criticized. Rather than relationships, he chose rejection. Instead of community and connection, the Grinch chose isolation and division. Hate does that!
You see, the Grinch actually wanted community, and he took out his frustrations on Christmas, because Christmas is where community happens. Much like Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the Grinch’s stony heart was completely self-focused, selfish, and hateful. Sin does that!
You know the rest of the story: The Grinch steals every part of the Whos’ Christmas celebration, believing that he would also steal their joy. But he didn’t. They celebrated even without their trees and presents and roast beast, because their hearts were in the right place. Christmas wasn’t about the stuff; it was about the love and joy and community. Ultimately, the Grinch slides down off Mt. Crumpet and returns his sleigh full of pilfered loot, and he is welcomed into the Who-ville community. Forgiveness does that!
What does this have to do with Jesus and the Gospel? Christmas is about God coming to us as a humble infant to show us what community is all about. Community seeks to love everyone, excludes no one. (Even the green ones with their heads screwed on wrong, small hearts, and tight shoes!) Jesus came to teach us that love doesn’t respond to evil with evil, or hate with more hate. It responds with love and relationship (Romans 12:17-18). Grace does that!
Only Jesus can take a too-small stony heart hardened by sin and replace it with a tender, loving, responsive one. Only Jesus can give us the hope and redemption and reconciliation that we truly need. He takes old and useless, and makes new and useful. And He welcomes us into His community, His family, no matter how green or poorly dressed we may be. Love does that! You are deeply loved!