In 1223 Saint Francis of Assisi wanted to find a way to bring the reality of the story of Christmas to life. As a result, outside of the monastery, he created the first nativity to life—a manger and some animals. He wanted the people to know who this wonderful time of season was for—the people!
In Italy, when they have a nativity this time of year, they have the normal of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the animals etc…but then they add a butcher, a baker, and a pastor—this is to indicate that everyday people are a part of the Christmas story.
Today, you are in the Christmas story. How would you see yourself there?
Gone also is the childhood notion that the first Christmas was all joy and peace for the main characters. Mary and Joseph experienced a bevy of emotions and challenges that included betrayal, fear, and loneliness. In other words, the first Christmas offers a lot of hope for real people in a fallen world whose holiday celebrations fall short of the mythical ideal.
Today, you may be a Joseph that has just been told that Mary is pregnant and you aren’t even married yet—so your heart is disillusioned for a moment until you can grasp the message from God’s heart to yours that the child she is carrying is the Son of God. It took great faith and courage for Joseph to hear the message of the angel that this was God’s plan and that all would be well.
Perhaps you too face a situation that could bring fear and you need faith and courage to take a step forward. It is very easy for us to allow our often-deep emotions to rule the day when we need to quiet ourselves and hear the voice of the Lord bringing assurance and direction to our hearts.
You may be a Mary—aware that God has desired to use you and your heart is overwhelmed with the possibility, and yet, you choose to yield to God’s plan instead of fighting against it. It is so important in our lives that we allow ourselves to be open to whatever the Lord would desire for us and to listen closely for His guidance. So often we think the big things may be what the Lord is leading us to but in reality it could be as simple as sending someone an encouraging note or inviting someone over for coffee or out to lunch. It is in these small ways that we learn to listen to the voice of the Lord and when we yield to it, and see the potential blessing in it, we are encouraged to listen even more closely.
You may be like the shepherds who were just going about their normal life and an encounter with the holy has you in awe and wonder and you want to be certain that what you are experiencing is really God. The need to take steps forward, one step at a time, and evaluate as you go and to listen again, closely to your inner spirit that responds to the voice of the Lord.
Perhaps you are like the wise men who in their intelligence saw the star and matched it together with the prophecy of Scripture and are seeking out now the truth of all that has been written. Perhaps skeptical of all the good news of Christmas but your heart is trying to tell your head to believe and your journey continues to find truth. It is the crucial aspect of our walks with Christ that we delve into His Word and it becomes a part of our thinking, our praying, and our trusting. That we take the time to meditate on the words of Scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to make it ring true and deep in us.
Just where do you fit in the story of Christmas?
When we read the truth of Immanuel—God With Us—it brings us right into the middle of all that God intended in the Christmas story. In reality, it isn’t so much about all the characters of the story but about why Jesus came—and the reason it all took place was that you and I would be able to discover a relationship with God that has been prepared from the very beginning of time. God’s desire to redeem humankind and to set us free from sin and to bring each of us back into relationship with Him.
Isaiah says TO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN!
Who will this Son be to us? Isaiah goes on to say that he will be our:
1. Wonderful Counselor—listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:9-16—we have the mind of Christ! Jesus said in John 14:16-17, 26 “and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.” “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
2. Mighty God—Romans 8 tells us that through Christ we are more than conquerors—there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 1 John tells us that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world! We are made to be victorious in our lives through the strength of Christ that resides within each of us through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us!
3. Everlasting Father—He is the God who is always present—all knowing, all powerful—he is loving and kind, and we, through Christ, through the Christmas story, become children of the living God. He is our Father and we are His children—created to be like Him and to be in relationship with him. We too are to take on the character of our Heavenly Father and walk in kindness and grace toward others.
4. Prince of Peace—Ephesians tells us the Jesus is our Peace. Jesus tells the disciples, “peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
There are so many things in this life that can cause our hearts to be restless, to be afraid, to question…but the peace of God, Scripture says, passes all of our human understanding. It is a spiritual walk that brings the peace that Jesus is speaking of and who He is in our lives.
The amazing aspect of all of this is that we have been provided everything we need to live the Christian life. There is absolutely nothing that has been left out.
Each of us has the opportunity to be able to express the love of God to those around us…but first we must accept that love is within us to its fullness.
When you place yourself in the Christmas story, you begin to understand that just as each character we are so familiar with had a purpose in the story—even so now, you, have a purpose as the Christmas story moves forward day after day, week after week etc. in your life.
Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds—they all had to come to a place in their own hearts to believe that God’s Son has come, the promise has been fulfilled and His love and grace are extended to all people! Nobody is left out of the Christmas story—absolutely nobody!
You have opportunity to bring the good news like the angels did on those precious first days. You have the opportunity to be in awe, to wonder, to find spiritual sustenance in the presence of the Living Christ in your life.
The opportunity is ours fresh and new this Christmas to commit our hearts and lives fresh and new to Jesus—the Savior—Immanuel—God with us!
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