God does have a reason and purpose for all that He does. Christmas is a time of joy goodwill and delighting in the age-old story of Jesus. For many, however, it doesn't seem to make sense or fit into their understanding of reality. Sadly, many people dismiss Christmas (and the salvation story) because they can’t understand. They can’t accept the fact that some of the things of God the Creator are not understandable to created human beings. They can’t reconcile the truth that some things God does are mystery. So, they miss out on the wonder and the joy of Christmas.
Here are some of the mysteries of the first Christmas:
* A virgin gave birth.
* God became a man.
* Christ was born to die. He bore in His body the sin of us all.
* Although destined to die, after three days Jesus rose from the dead. Christ, born from a virgin womb, rose from a virgin tomb and conquered death so that death is not the end of our existence. We can be sure of heaven - not because we deserve it, but because the Son came to bring us into an everlasting relationship with the Father.
I have often wondered why God chose to reveal the birth of His Son to a bunch of rag tag shepherds. These were “unclean” in religious circles and the lower class citizens socially. So why did God choose them for this magnificent revelation? The glory of the Lord shone around them, an angel appeared in the night sky and an angelic choir sang! No one else saw any of this? Or, did they?
What if others saw but were too busy, too tired, too skeptical to accept what they were seeing? What if, like many today, angels and angelic choirs and unexplained lights from the sky just didn’t make sense. It must be an anomaly of some sort. They dismissed what they saw and continued what they were doing. They missed this wonder of wonders.
The shepherds, however, accepted what they saw and heard, (although I’m sure they didn’t understand) and they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child. Then they spread the word about what they had seen and heard, glorifying and praising God.
I wonder if Mary, after hearing the shepherds’ story, might have said, “Go ahead, pick him up and hold him close? I wonder if like Simeon the shepherds didn’t pick up the Christ child and know that they could die in peace for their eyes had seen God’s salvation?
I wonder if that’s what we need to do today? Maybe we need to stop trying to understand the mysteries of God and just accept His gift. Stop and pick up the baby and hold him in your heart once again (or maybe for the first time). Know the love, joy, and peace that only He can give.
That is my Christmas prayer for each of you – that you would pick up the Christmas Child – opens your heart to receive this gift from God. I pray that the glory of the Lord would surround you and be your guiding light, His peace would quiet your anxious moments and His love in Christ would bring you joy unspeakable. I pray that you would then go and spread the word and praise and glorify God for all He has done.
Merry Christmas! Mitch