Love Came Down On Christmas!

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he is pleased! -Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas!!!
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love the warmth of the season, the food, and most of all, thinking about and talking about the birth of Jesus.

There are so many layers to the account of the birth of our Savior. But what strikes me most is how utterly humble His birth was. This is the King of Kings, the Most High, God Incarnate. You would expect He’d be born in a beautiful castle and surrounded by servants and glittering gold. But instead, we see Jesus is born among the dirt, filth, and smells of the animals. His is rested in a trough for animal feed and wrapped with strips of cloth! Just as amazing is who God chose to announce the birth of His only begotten Son. Not kings, not religious elites, none with prestige or clout, but the ones considered the lowest – the shepherds!

To me, this is amazing and carries deep meaning and example for us. It directly speaks against a focus on wealth and prestige and demonstrates God's love for all of us, even those many would consider the lowest. God Himself came in the most humble of ways, and lived as an example to us all. 

The other part of this story, that until recently I never really thought about is how Mary and Joseph must have felt. They likely had no idea of the magnitude of what was happening. Imagine knowing that this child is the Son of God! What a blessing, but also this must have been incredibly stressful as well.  They would have been doing their best to make sure everything was just right for the baby in Mary's womb. But, despite all their hopes and efforts, it must have seen to them as if everything was going wrong!

As Mary is about to give birth, suddenly Caesar orders a census forcing Joseph to bring a very pregnant Mary all the way to Jerusalem. As if the journey wasn’t hard enough, when they arrive, they can’t even find a place to stay! When they do, they end up with the animals. This must have felt like the worst possible scenario to them! But it was all part of God’s great plan and He was in total control.

Sometimes despite our best efforts, everything seems to go wrong! But, when we’re moving according to His will, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, we know it will all be worked together for good according to His plans, just like it did for Mary and Joseph. It brings to mind Romans 8:28 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
  
We can take great comfort in the account of Jesus’ birth. God has not forgotten us. Even the lowest among us, He cares about personally. We can trust Him completely, even when EVERYTHING seems to go completely wrong. He is with us and His plans for us are good! (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

What a wonderful gift we have in Jesus!

Let's Pray

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the most wonderful gift of all - Jesus! 
We thank you for loving us so much that you sent Him to live as one of us and rescue us from the wages of sin - death! We thank you Jesus for the perfect example you are for us to follow, your humility, strength, grace and perfect love! Help us to be more like you with every day as we surrender totally to our Heavenly Father, as you surrendered everything, even unto death.

We ask you LORD, that you be with us and our loved ones this Christmas season and throughout the new year blessing us with your peace, grace, love and the joy of the Lord, helping us to love others as you love us.

We ask all of this in Jesus' most wonderful name. Amen!