A Response to the Christmas Story

Responses, we all have them. It's how we act, or react, in a given situation. In the Christmas story, There are many different reactions. Mary and Joseph humbly accepted the news of the baby Jesus without questions. The story says that Mary was troubled- I think terrified would be an appropriate word- yet they submit to God's plan for them. Mary "treasured all these things that happened in her heart." She, as a parent, never forgot that day, but she thought about them. I imagine, she wanted to understand; to see the big picture. Herod heard the news of the birth of a king and was "greatly troubled." His reaction was to kill all the boys in the vicinity that were under three years old. He was upset, and he made everyone else upset as well. He was not going to let someone else be king. And what of the innkeepers, who had no place for the baby and turned them away; leaving Mary and Joseph to have their baby in a stable. Their reaction is cold and indifferent. Perhaps it was just a fact; there was no room. Perhaps, they could not be bothered to make extra room for a couple of young parents with little money. Either way, their response was to shut them out; just ignore the situation in hopes that it will go away. The shepherds also heard about the birth of a baby in Bethlehem. Their response was quite different. They left their sheep, their livelihood, and went to see the baby. They went back to their fields rejoicing that they had seen this miracle. The response of the shepherds is priceless. They were excited and joyful that this baby had been born. The Magi, when they saw the star, traveled for miles so they could see the one who was born, "King of the Jews." They knew what the star meant and came to worship him. I am not sure if any of them completely understood the implications of the baby born on that first Christmas, but each of them had a life changing Christmas. Yes, I imagine even Herod's life was changed, not necessarily for good, He wanted no part of Christmas, but I bet he never forgot that day. Jesus is still changing lives today and all of us at some point is brought to the stable and we must decide how we will respond to Jesus. How will you respond?

Celebrate the Child
Celebrate the Child who is the Light
Now the darkness is over
No more wandering in the night
Celebrate the Child who is the Light

You know this is no fable
Godhead and manhood became one
We see He's more than able
And so we live to God the Son

First born of creation
Lamb and Lion, God and Man
The Author of Salvation
Almighty wrapped in swaddling bands

Comments

Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a missed opportunity, I began thinking about what it is that makes us afraid. I honestly am not sure what it is that causes us to be afraid when we should be bold, but I

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road. I grabbed her up and checked her over there were no injuries, but

The God of Order

Yesterday, my children and I went walking on a bike trail. The weather was perfect. Sunny, warm but not hot. As we were walking, we started to talk about creation. Creation itself always amazes me. Can you imagine watching creation unfold at the word of the Almighty? It would be the most glorious and lovely thing to see. As we were talking, I asked, “What do you think would have happed if God had created people first?” They stopped gave me a questioning look then my daughter said, “I suppose that we would have starved because there was no food.” And we all had a laugh creating other scenarios for what might have happened if creation had happened in any other way. Yet, the fact is that creation itself demonstrates that God is a God of order. Each day of creation built on what had been done the day before. It also reminds me that God wants our lives to be as orderly as possible. God planned creation before one word was spoken

Inspirations

Search This Blog