The Christmas Story
Being raised in a Christian home meant I became quite familiar with hearing the story of the birth of Jesus. However, even after years and years of the story being read to me I could only tell you the basic events of the story, and to be honest with you the story had little impact on me. There were other stories and books of the Bible that left me in awe and captivated by what God was doing. And so this Christmas, I wanted to reread the story of the birth of Jesus in order to read it with fresh eyes and to be left in awe of God’s plans for His son. Here are a few things I took away from reading the story of Jesus’ birth this year:
God uses ordinary people, places, and things to do extraordinary things. Now, this is something one of my friends pointed out to me when I asked her what about the Christmas story captivated her. She pointed out how throughout the story, God takes so many things that we would find unlikely and ordinary, yet uses them in the story of Jesus being born. Take the shepherds in chapter 2, they were ordinary people who were just tending to their sheep. In fact, back in the day they were even seen as lower in society. God CHOOSES them to reveal the good news too though! “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for the look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people’” (Luke 2: 8-10). God doesn’t care that society looks at these shepherds as lowly—He cares about getting the good news out, and the shepherds were the people God incorporated into the story of Jesus. As you go on to read the story, you will notice many other ordinary things, such as being born in a manger (the last place you would think to find the Son of God and a King of Israel). Or the fact, that Jesus came down as a baby when He could have come with some extravagant entrance. God chose Jesus to be born to a teenage girl, as a human baby. Talk about the extraordinary power of God demonstrated through ordinary things.
When looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus, there are things we can learn from her. At the time, she was a teenage girl, which many today would question “why would God choose a teenage girl to be the mother of the Son of God?” When I read through the story, I see that once again just like the shepherds, God didn’t care about what society thought; God cared about the faith and heart she had for the Lord. Just like God sent Jesus to save ALL people, He began that by using all sorts of people to bring together the birth of Christ. We can also learn so much from Mary’s obedience in this story. It says several times that Mary treasured things in her heart and meditated on them. This is one habit we can take with us into this next year, of treasuring the blessings God gives us and the things he reveals to us, and then meditating on them as well.
When reading the story both in Luke and Matthew, I noticed there was a consistent theme of immediate obedience throughout the people involved in the story. When the angel is revealed to the shepherds, they right after “go straight to Bethlehem.” They didn’t wait to consider if they wanted to follow what the angel said to them—they went straight after. In Matthew, we see the Wise men and Joseph warned in dreams of either a place to flee to or places to avoid. And again, each time, they obey according to what was revealed to them. I don’t know about you, but I want to learn from them and take whatever God reveals to me, and follow immediately.
Jesus for ALL people! The Christmas story is one of joy, but also of pure hope. Jesus came down to earth, in order to offer life to every single person, no matter whether society deems them worthy. The story of the birth of Jesus is so intricately planned by God, that we can’t help but see his hand through it all. In the use of certain people, in the bringing together of people—God reveals his power while doing so in many subtle ways. This is what makes the story so good though, and one that we read and get excited for what is to follow in Jesus’ time on earth.
These are just a few thoughts I had when reading through the story this Christmas morning. I encourage you to read through some point today if you can, to fill your heart with what today is all about. It is so easy to get fixated on everything else about the Christmas season ( I know I do every single year), but I have felt convicted lately to remember what today is even about and what I am celebrating. Read through the birth of Jesus, and challenge yourself to ask questions, to question God’s purpose in each event, so that His truth and power will be revealed.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Lindsay