Yes, I know. December 25th is probably not an accurate date for the birth of Jesus. But you know what? I don’t think that matters much. What matters is that about 2,000 years ago, a Baby was born. I love that His birth was announced by angels to Shepherds. And through the stars, His birth was announced to Kings (or Wise Men). He came not just for the poor and lowly, but the powerful and wise and everyone in between.
Half empty
I wish I didn’t struggle with this, but I have a tendency of seeing “the cup” as half empty. The world is nuts right now, and it seems as if nothing is stopping our descent into chaos and more and more sin. I don’t really see an end in site.
But God. LORD do I need to remember, BUT GOD!
I need to remind myself, especially now, that when the world least expected it, a Baby was born. When His people weren’t even paying attention, He came. And He didn’t come because any of us deserved it. God is so good, He came despite who we are. He came because of Who He is.
Not Who He was. But Who He is. And Who He will always be.
Half full and then some
I pray that the LORD help us all to see the cup is half full. Actually, it’s even more than that. Our cup runs over (Psalm 23), because of Who He is.
If you’ve never watched It’s a Wonderful Life, for the love of all things good, go watch it (it’s actually free on Amazon Prime right now!). It’s a sobering reminder that yes, life is hard. Circumstances may look grim. In many cases, it’s just straight up unfair. But we have no idea what God is doing. When we most want to give up, God is still at work.
Yes, life can be hard, but with the LORD, we really do have wonderful lives. They may not be pretty. Often, they are heavy with one worry or another. But God is good, and we, especially those of us in Christ, are blessed.
Mary
Just think of that young woman, Mary, 2,000 years ago. About ready to give birth, having to travel miles and miles to get to Jerusalem. I’m sure that with every mile, her stomach tightened thinking about having to face her relatives. How was she to explain the situation? The whispers, the sideways glances, the sneers she most certainly would have to endure. It was all awaiting her and her husband. Considering the prophets at that time had no idea that the Messiah was to be born (they only realized after the magi came, around 2 years after the birth had taken place), no one was expecting this miracle Child. I’m certain many were incredulous to whatever Mary and Joseph had to say.
And yet, Mary was called highly favored (Luke 1:28). She knew herself to be blessed (Luke 1:46-55), although her life was understandably, hard. Through no fault of her own. In fact, it was because she was favored by the LORD, that she was chosen to live that difficult life.
I pray that no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in this Christmas, we can say we are blessed. And mean it.
God is good. Praise the LORD for our Savior’s birth!
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