I don’t know about you but I love the holidays, I love the sparkle, the colors, it just feels like “magic” is in the air and I think everyone needs a little everyday extraordinary “magic” once in a while. I was not always so perky about the holidays but as I’ve gotten older, I began to appreciate this time of year more and more.
While everyone is busily getting their shopping done (I haven’t even started), preparing for holiday meals, and decorating (that I’ve accomplished) at the moment I am sitting in a house with no heat (fun times, new repair man tomorrow, we hope he is the bearer of good news). But while everyone is preparing in their own way, I like to reflect back on the nativity scene. I love to teach over the nativity scene, taking an in depth look at all the people involved.
For the last six years I have got to teach over the Nativity Scene and it is always a blessing and joy to do so. Out of those six years my favorite moments are when I have got to share that story with kids in rehabs recovering from addiction, in desperate need of love, hope, and liberation. The Nativity scene is such a picture of hope regardless of one’s denomination or past life, it reaches beyond those things, pulling at our heart strings.
Mary’s remarkable faith displayed for all to see; it’s the ability to maintain faith during the journey that makes one extraordinary. Mary’s calling was both sweet and burdensome as she navigated through spiritual valleys, conquered emotional mountains brought on through misunderstanding and stigma, and marveled herself at the work God was doing through her at the pinnacle of her life work (the birth of the Messiah).
One of my favorite things about the nativity scene is that God uses ordinary people to accomplish His will. He is not looking for perfection but a willing faithfulness. What a difficult time in such a blessed season in young Mary’s life. She was blessed to be the chosen one to bare the Messiah but oh, the stigma she had to endure, it was not for the faint of heart. God knew He could trust Mary and Joseph with His plan even though it would not be easy. Rarely is God’s calling effortless, all things worth value require much work.
I want to take a moment to encourage you to stop and reflect on the Nativity scene this Christmas season and as you do, know that God sent His only begotten Son for YOU, to give you hope, to give you purpose, to bring you spiritual liberation…
Luke 2: 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world,[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
While God is always the ultimate champion in every story, He appoints and anoints specific people to become heroes in everyday life; we see this with Mary and Joseph. When we look closely at the Nativity scene what we see is the mysterious ways God works. The Messiah was conceived and then born in an unconventional way because there is nothing really conventional about the supernatural it defies the natural. When we look at the Nativity scene it should remind us that often times God’s plan doesn’t look like our plan; learn to trust Him anyway and take a leap of faith like young Mary.
As you run around trying to catch up on your shopping or maybe you are in place where there is no shopping this year, regardless of your affairs, it is my prayer you are filled with the hope only God can give, knowing that His love for you cannot be bound, nor can it be measured, or fully comprehended and yet it flows from Him like a mighty wave drenching us from head to toe, soaking us from spirit to heart to mind, enriching our lives for the better because His love is like no other. God’s love is so great for us that He refuses to live without us, so He reaches down and raises us up to be part of His kingdom through His Son, Jesus Christ… soak in that redeeming, all encompassing love. No sin is to great for God’s love to cover.
Good Afternoon Ladies… happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.