It's that time of year; where the ornaments are hung on the tree (after the lights have been wrestled out of their devil knots!), the cookies are on the counter waiting to be frosted, and the stacks of cards are organized into the 'friends' and 'family' piles.
Christmas fills us with anticipation, but also an eye-roll inducing aggravation. And yes, I say that as a Christian. We revisit Luke 2, as we do each December. Jesus' birth is also chronicled in Matthew, and foretold throughout the Old Testament, but it's that chapter of Luke that's the infamous Christmas chapter.
Many know its words inside and out, from 'In those days Caesar...' to 'And there were in the fields, shepherds...'.
So, how do we keep its impact from fading when the words become so familiar and expected that our motivation to read it suffers? This is the ultimate challenge that our pastors face, when standing in front of fifty or five hundred expectant worshipers awaiting the two thousand year old story in a new light. Course, ever think that its light doesn't need to be made new?
'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"
made his light shine
in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of
God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.'
~2 Corinthians 4:6~
Jesus' birth story is part of what we have to celebrate as Christians. Just as God didn't have to create us, He didn't have to create a way for us to spend eternity with Him. He could've been a Supreme Being who was content to enjoy us for a while, then move on to His other toys. And He certainly wasn't under any obligation to use His own son to end our separation! And yet, He did. He did all of it, despite our rejection and empty worship... and it became real the moment Jesus Christ began growing in Mary's stomach.
Realizing- knowing- this, staring in awe at the significance of Christmas and the Christ child, doesn't it make you want to read Luke 2 and memorize every word?
Definitely!
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