For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us.
The government will rest on His shoulders.
And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NLT
Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you;
He is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11 NIV
In a perfect world we enter in and celebrate, hearts full. We live the winter wonderland postcard perfect holiday celebration surrounded by loved ones in perfect harmony. Okay, so we don't live in a perfect world. Christmas usually finds us with struggles and strains, fun and fulfillment, the mixed bag of daily life.
Most of us have many wonderful memories of Christmas. But then there are the Christmases we occasionally find ourselves in, marked by the D words. Despair, depression, disease, divorce, dismay, disarray, derailment, discouragement, displacement, disillusionment. You get the drift. It is in these times, which we all go through at some time or another, finding "the Christmas spirit" can be a challenge. All of the merrymaking can seem like a mockery to the reality we face, a garish insult to injury.
But this, it seems to me, is precisely the point of Christmas. It was in the midst of the mundane messiness of life Jesus came. He came to live among us at a seemingly random moment in time.
His coming was not announced by a dazzling parade. Though there is the scene where a glimpse of heaven came and danced across the night sky in a blaze of glory, only to be seen by a handful of shepherds surely in stunned amazement. To these, the lowly ones of the day, the message was given.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men
on whom His favor rests.
Luke 2:14 NIV
Jesus Christ was born into a world filled with all of the difficult things common to mankind. It was then as it is now. We could start with His mother. He was born to this young girl, barely a woman, who certainly was confused about what was going in her life. She had been told she was favored by God, blessed above all other women. Yet there she was an unwed mother (scandalous), riding a donkey in the last days of her pregnancy (excruciating) to a town where she knew no one (scared and lonely) only to be turned away (rejected) from a warm and welcoming bed to rest her weary body. Off she went to give birth among the animals.
That was where the first Christmas found Mary. Blessed? Favored? Really? Yes! Life is often a mixed bag isn't it? The juxtaposition of the divine and the difficult. Both true. Mary made a decision to surrender her life to the plan God revealed to her, trusting He was going to use it for good.
That was where the first Christmas found Mary. Blessed? Favored? Really? Yes! Life is often a mixed bag isn't it? The juxtaposition of the divine and the difficult. Both true. Mary made a decision to surrender her life to the plan God revealed to her, trusting He was going to use it for good.
God allows things to unfold in our lives which seem inexplicable to us. Yet there is always purpose, always promise and always good in His plans, even when we don't understand.
Jesus came from the glory and majesty of God's Presence (see John 17:5 ) in such an inconspicuous, unassertive way. From the glory and splendor of heaven to a barn, probably drafty and a bit smelly. The long awaited, much anticipated Christ Child, the Messiah, slipped in among us, noticed by only a handful of people as we see when we set up our nativities each year.
Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, who are poor in spirit, who are persecuted, who are meek, and hungry of heart and soul (see Matthew 5). He came to answer those deep needs in all of us. As we look to Jesus, study His character, His ways, we experience something profound, something that touches us deeply within. The love of the Christ Child grips our hearts. His light illuminates our darkness and lights our way.
The ways of the kingdom of God always upend our low-level (self focused) thinking. Mary didn't know the full story but she knew enough. She paid attention to the wonder of what God was up to, in spite of her circumstances and as a result got to be a part of the miracle of God becoming man.
This begs the question, what do I focus on? What thoughts do I treasure and ponder? Are they healthy and good, rooted in the reality of Jesus in our midst? The Christmas story is not about glitz and glitter. Instead it is where we find meaning and purpose, hope and joy. Countless souls through the centuries have received the gift of the Holy Child given to us by God. They know Him, personally, as the best gift imaginable.
Like Mary, we too can ponder the miraculous love of God. God, Who humbly became a Man, Who came to live among us and is with us still. We too can choose to see and experience the miracles of life and love that are all around in spite of what we don't understand. And we can share, without being loud or pushy, but rather with humility and grace the precious hope the world desperately needs. Hope has a Name and His Name is Jesus.
Jesus came from the glory and majesty of God's Presence (see John 17:5 ) in such an inconspicuous, unassertive way. From the glory and splendor of heaven to a barn, probably drafty and a bit smelly. The long awaited, much anticipated Christ Child, the Messiah, slipped in among us, noticed by only a handful of people as we see when we set up our nativities each year.
Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, who are poor in spirit, who are persecuted, who are meek, and hungry of heart and soul (see Matthew 5). He came to answer those deep needs in all of us. As we look to Jesus, study His character, His ways, we experience something profound, something that touches us deeply within. The love of the Christ Child grips our hearts. His light illuminates our darkness and lights our way.
The ways of the kingdom of God always upend our low-level (self focused) thinking. Mary didn't know the full story but she knew enough. She paid attention to the wonder of what God was up to, in spite of her circumstances and as a result got to be a part of the miracle of God becoming man.
But Mary treasured all these things,
giving careful thought to them
and pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:19 AMP
This begs the question, what do I focus on? What thoughts do I treasure and ponder? Are they healthy and good, rooted in the reality of Jesus in our midst? The Christmas story is not about glitz and glitter. Instead it is where we find meaning and purpose, hope and joy. Countless souls through the centuries have received the gift of the Holy Child given to us by God. They know Him, personally, as the best gift imaginable.
Like Mary, we too can ponder the miraculous love of God. God, Who humbly became a Man, Who came to live among us and is with us still. We too can choose to see and experience the miracles of life and love that are all around in spite of what we don't understand. And we can share, without being loud or pushy, but rather with humility and grace the precious hope the world desperately needs. Hope has a Name and His Name is Jesus.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for coming to us. Help me, to see Your unexpected, unheralded blessings day by day. In the beauty of nature. In the eyes of those around me. Help me pay attention, to be present to Your Presence. Thank You for being Immanuel, God with us, forever. Thank you for the miracle of Your love, peace, and joy that don't always line up with our circumstances. Thank you there is so much that is bigger, better and beyond in the life you offer each and every one of us.
Thank you Lord for coming to us. Help me, to see Your unexpected, unheralded blessings day by day. In the beauty of nature. In the eyes of those around me. Help me pay attention, to be present to Your Presence. Thank You for being Immanuel, God with us, forever. Thank you for the miracle of Your love, peace, and joy that don't always line up with our circumstances. Thank you there is so much that is bigger, better and beyond in the life you offer each and every one of us.
