Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace good will toward men. Luke 2:14
It always seems that something breaks around our house just when we really need everything to work!! This week, the dishwasher refused to drain, so I called our repairman. Of course, a part had to be ordered, and I was dreading the statement, “We can’t get it until after Christmas.” As our repairman was on speaker with his office for ordering and scheduling, he said, “Our customer would really love this done before Christmas, is there any way?” She replied, “I’m not sure, but hold on and believe!” At that point, I called out, “I believe.” It turns out, it was possible. As she said good bye to both of us, she said, “Now, tell others about your positive experience and how we orchestrated this to your satisfaction.”
Christmas Day is upon us, and as we prepare for the birth of our Savior, and to fully appreciate the story of Christ’s birth, it’s important for us to consider the ways God orchestrated the event.
First, God called shepherds to tell the story. Shepherds were considered to be the lowest in society, yet God picked them to tell the greatest story. Perhaps that’s because some people would have debated the authenticity of what they had seen, but the shepherds believed and spread the word. We should tell the story.
Secondly, those who heard the story were amazed! God was reconciling the world to Him and not holding their sins against them. Through Jesus’ birth, God committed to us the message of reconciliation. Our debts are cancelled, and now we can have a personal relationship with Christ. Where’s our awe or amazement when we tell or hear that story yet again?
Finally, there was Mary’s part in the story. The Bible says that she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) She wanted to understand what God was doing, and how it related to her, but she couldn’t. Mary didn’t understand God’s will in all this, but she accepted it and obeyed it.
God is asking us this Christmas to tell His story anew, keep the awe in Christmas, and accept His will and obey it!
The very first Christmas God did something extraordinary. Max Lucado puts it this way: Stepping down from the throne, He removed His robe of light and wrapped Himself in pigmented human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels worshipped nestled in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay. Mary didn’t know whether to give Him milk or give him praise, so she gave Him both – since He was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. Joseph didn’t know whether to call Him junior or father, but in the end, he called him Jesus since that’s what the angel said, and since He didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms. Don’t you think heads tilted and their minds wondered, ‘What in the world are you doing, God? Or better Phrased, God what are you doing in the world?” Can anything make me stop loving you? God asks, ” You wonder how long my love with last? Find your answer on a splintered cross on a craggy hill. That’s Me you see up there, your Maker, your God. That’s how much I love you.” Paul asks, “Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:35) Then, he answers his own question: “Nothing can separate us from God’s love – not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not power above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38) That’s what Christmas is all about.
Christmas is Christ. This year my prayer is that we would join the angels who sang Gloria and the wise men who fell down and worshipped Him during our celebration!
Merry Christmas!!
Silent night, Holy night, Son of God, Love’s pure light. Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia. Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.