The beautiful story of Christmas began long, long, long
before the "Christmas-y" events we read in the New Testament. Jesus,
the Word, was in existence before the beginning of creation. In fact, He created the world and everything
in it.
When those first two humans to walk the lush new earth
brought sin into the world by listening to lies and sinking their teeth into
the forbidden, the need for a Savior was born.
All future people would be born into sin and separated from the holy
God. All individuals would sense the
dark void in their souls, whether or not they would recognize it as the
disconnection from the One who made them.
For centuries, people had to make sacrifices to cover their
sin. I imagine this to be unsettling and
cumbersome: “Did I remember to do it
exactly right? Did I sacrifice enough
and the right things? What if I forgot
an important detail?” It would be kind
of . . . scary. To know your eternity
depended on getting it right every time would be terrifyingly burdensome.
Those who loved God and studied Scripture knew the Messiah
was coming. Many had their own ideas
about what He would be like and what His objectives would be during His life on
earth, but no one but God knew the timing or the details . . .
. . . Until a young lady with a beautiful heart was visited
by the angel Gabriel. Mary loved and
obeyed God, but she had never seen an angel before, and didn't understand at
first what was going on. It was
frightening to have this strange being appear suddenly before her! But Gabriel assured her she had no reason to
be afraid. God was impressed with her
because she reflected His beauty in the way she lived her life, and He had chosen her for the honored role of
being His Son's mother.
Mary couldn't wrap her mind around this at first because she
was only engaged to her man Joseph, not married, and she had never slept with
him or any man. But the angel explained
to her that it would be by the Holy Spirit that she would be pregnant, and that
she should name the baby Jesus. He would
be holy and great and would rule His never-ending kingdom.
This had to have been a difficult and scary thing to
process. In those days it would have
been scandalous to be pregnant without a husband! What would people think of her? Of Joseph?
She would bring him shame! Who
would ever believe she had become pregnant without sinning against God?
But Mary loved and trusted God so much that she willingly
called herself His servant, ready to do as He willed.
Now, of course, Joseph was in need of some assurance for his
troubled mind, and so an angel appeared to him as well, and explained that to
follow through and marry his fiancee was the right thing. Joseph, too, was a loving and obedient
servant of God, and he did not turn Mary away.
When it was almost time for Mary to give birth, Joseph had
to take her with him to be counted for a census of the land ordered by Caesar
Augustus. Since Joseph was a descendant
of David, the town he was to report to was Bethlehem.
While they were there, it was time for Mary to give birth,
but there was no room for them in any of the inns, so they ended up staying in
an animal barn. There, Mary delivered
her baby, bundled him up in cloths so he would be warm, and tenderly lay him
down to sleep in the only available baby bed—an animal's feeding trough.
Such humble beginnings for the mighty Savior of the World!
Nearby, there were some shepherds watching over their sheep
overnight. The Bible doesn't specify
this, but I picture a black sky with zillions of stars visible and the
shepherds quietly talking to each other while their sheep sleep, making sweet
little “sheep noises” from time to time.
Overall, everything is still and peaceful.
But, suddenly, an angel from God appeared. Bam!
God's glory—brighter than any sunlight the shepherds had ever
seen—shone around them. The shepherds
were terrified at what they were witnessing!
The sight before them had no context, no comparison to anything at all
they were familiar with.
But the angel assured them they didn't need to be afraid;
that he had joyful news that would profoundly impact everyone everywhere! He told them about the Savior, little baby
Jesus, who had just been born, and told them how to find the baby and his
parents.
The angel was then joined by a huge angelic choir singing
God's praises. It was amazing to behold!
After the angels had withdrawn into heaven, the shepherds
talked it over and decided to go see for themselves what God had revealed to
them. They left in a hurry and found
Mary and Joseph and the baby. They were
amazed, and they told everyone they met what had happened, and everyone who
heard about it was impressed.
The shepherds returned and glorified and praised God for
everything they had heard and seen.
Everything had happened exactly the way they'd been told!
The story of Jesus doesn't end at the manger any more than it began there. His story has no end.
What He accomplished in His 33-ish years on this earth is unattainable for anyone else. To live a sinless life? Impossible for anyone but Jesus! To willingly offer Himself up as the one, true sacrificial Lamb? Only Jesus! To be the One whose blood covers the sin of mankind? Only Jesus! To conquer death? Only Jesus! To be the bridge connecting sinful people to the God from whom their sin separates them? Only Jesus! To offer eternal salvation at His own expense to anyone who believes? Only Jesus!
To live forever, even after the earthly body gives in to its demise? Well, that's possible for anyone! Anyone with enough humility to admit they need this Jesus who suffered so much on account of us all. Anyone who sees their need for redemption and calls on His name in their heart to receive it.
And when the triumphant King Jesus returns for His own, He will have endless more years to reign, for His story is eternal. And He eagerly invites us to join Him in His eternal Kingdom. The price is already paid by His blood.
I have accepted His invitation. Will you?
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