LESSONS OF CHRISTMAS

Here we are, once again, preparing for Christmas. The Christmas Scriptures may be excitingly new or boringly old. Some of us have heard them so many times we could almost repeat the Christmas story word for word from memory. What else can we learn from hearing the story again? During this Advent season we are going to focus on five groups of people that can teach us valuable lessons to apply to our lives.

First take the small family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Through them God explodes the box we keep Him in and chooses a young, poor, virgin and a carpenter to bring His Son into the world and to raise him. The righteousness of two ordinary people glorify God as they obey, as they say Your Will not mine,  and as they spiritually, emotionally, and physically surrender themselves to Almighty God.

God shocks us again when the angels announce His Son’s birth to the lowliest of the low, the shepherds. Really, SHEPHERDS today that’s like announcing it to a group of homeless people. But wait. He chose Abraham, a shepherd, to father nations. He chose David, a shepherd, the one who had a heart like God’s, to be the line in which His son would be born. Then there was Moses, a shepherd, He chose him to free His people from Pharaoh. Through these three shepherds we learn ordinary people can do extraordinary things when we are obedient to God.

King Herod, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law were seeking the Messiah for the all the wrong reasons. Here was a group of people who were seeking the Messiah intellectually but refused to bend their knees to the sovereignty of God, the power of God, or the Son of God. The sole purpose in seeking the Messiah was to deny and kill him. The lesson here is a difficult one. God will not show Himself to ones whose sole purpose is to deny Him, His power, or His sovereignty. We do not find the Messiah with our mind, it is only through our heart we can find the Messiah.

The Magi are not important for who they were but for the reason they traveled the great distance they did to see this Child. These men recognized this Child as the Messiah when the Jews could not. The Magi illustrate that we must diligently and purposely seek out this baby called Jesus, Immanuel (God with us), Savior before we can discover the gifts He has for us.

Finally, we come to the synagogue to meet Simeon and Anna. Two people who waited a lifetime to be able to see this “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes” who was the Savior, the Son of God, the Promised One. Through these two we learn patience and trust is rewarded by God. “God is who He says He is and God will do what He says He will do.” (Beth Moore, Believing God)

Join me next week as we look closer at Mary and Joseph. Do they have more to teach us?