Merry Christmas!
This is the day we celebrate that God came down to earth to become one of us in order to save us! That's big news.
Who ever heard of the great God above becoming part of His own creation, in fact, coming to the very bottom, in order to raise us all up? This is the day. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Merry Christmas to you!
We normally think of Christmas as "it." Christ was born, He came to die to save us from sin. It's almost like it's all over and done in one day. It didn't quite go like that.
Think about this:
There were only a few people that knew how important this baby was. Even counting Simeon, Anna, and Elizabeth, the whole crowd is certainly less than 50. Suppose you were Mary, or Joseph, one of the shepherds, or one of the wise men. The anticipation was probably the biggest part of the whole ordeal. Check this out -- there were a lot of super-natural events that accompanied the birth of Christ. But He did not start His ministry for thirty years! I tend to doubt pretty quickly. I'm sure that in 10 years, I would be wondering if it was true. -- Did it really all happen back then (10 years ago), or was I just caught up in the emotion of the moment? All those things were pretty random, and everything's been pretty normal since. Maybe God has changed His mind. Maybe I was hoping too much. -- But to wait another 20 years after that?
Do you think the shepherds kept tabs on Jesus? How often in the next 30 years do you think they thought about that one very strange night? They went back to their routine lives, and not another thing happened for the next 30 years. If one was 30 at the time of Jesus' birth, he would be 60 before Jesus started His ministry. I wonder if any of them were around 30 years later to hear about this Rabbi named "Jesus." Did they get to hear Him speak? Were any there to see Him die? How about the wise men? They went back home. How would they ever know when this new king took power? Did they wonder what happened years later, when they never heard news?
We celebrate Christmas every year. Did they forget Christmas?
Where will you be in 30 years? How many "spectacular events" you have seen recently will still be on your mind then? Will you still be in touch with the people you know and the friends you have now? It's a long time - a very long time.
What if you knew this child was the Messiah, but then you watched Him grow up for 30 years? That's what Mary did. Joseph isn't mentioned much after Jesus started His ministry. Did he even get to see His son's ministry? What if you were Mary? The anticipation of waiting for the Messiah - your Son - to be revealed. Then, a short miraculous ministry, and an early death. Bam, it's all over. You've been waiting 30 years, and this is what you get.
You see, we shorten the story because we know too much of it. This Christmas, let's go back to Bethlehem and wait -- WAIT -- just like everyone had to that first Christmas. The Christmas story is so much fuller and richer than we realize. Think of the anticipation.
We often want God to work fast. What if we had to wait 30 years?
Prophecies relating to Christmas:
http://www.jeffkouba.com/SundaySchool/ChristmasProphecies.htm
This is the day we celebrate that God came down to earth to become one of us in order to save us! That's big news.
Who ever heard of the great God above becoming part of His own creation, in fact, coming to the very bottom, in order to raise us all up? This is the day. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Merry Christmas to you!
We normally think of Christmas as "it." Christ was born, He came to die to save us from sin. It's almost like it's all over and done in one day. It didn't quite go like that.
Think about this:
There were only a few people that knew how important this baby was. Even counting Simeon, Anna, and Elizabeth, the whole crowd is certainly less than 50. Suppose you were Mary, or Joseph, one of the shepherds, or one of the wise men. The anticipation was probably the biggest part of the whole ordeal. Check this out -- there were a lot of super-natural events that accompanied the birth of Christ. But He did not start His ministry for thirty years! I tend to doubt pretty quickly. I'm sure that in 10 years, I would be wondering if it was true. -- Did it really all happen back then (10 years ago), or was I just caught up in the emotion of the moment? All those things were pretty random, and everything's been pretty normal since. Maybe God has changed His mind. Maybe I was hoping too much. -- But to wait another 20 years after that?
Do you think the shepherds kept tabs on Jesus? How often in the next 30 years do you think they thought about that one very strange night? They went back to their routine lives, and not another thing happened for the next 30 years. If one was 30 at the time of Jesus' birth, he would be 60 before Jesus started His ministry. I wonder if any of them were around 30 years later to hear about this Rabbi named "Jesus." Did they get to hear Him speak? Were any there to see Him die? How about the wise men? They went back home. How would they ever know when this new king took power? Did they wonder what happened years later, when they never heard news?
We celebrate Christmas every year. Did they forget Christmas?
Where will you be in 30 years? How many "spectacular events" you have seen recently will still be on your mind then? Will you still be in touch with the people you know and the friends you have now? It's a long time - a very long time.
What if you knew this child was the Messiah, but then you watched Him grow up for 30 years? That's what Mary did. Joseph isn't mentioned much after Jesus started His ministry. Did he even get to see His son's ministry? What if you were Mary? The anticipation of waiting for the Messiah - your Son - to be revealed. Then, a short miraculous ministry, and an early death. Bam, it's all over. You've been waiting 30 years, and this is what you get.
You see, we shorten the story because we know too much of it. This Christmas, let's go back to Bethlehem and wait -- WAIT -- just like everyone had to that first Christmas. The Christmas story is so much fuller and richer than we realize. Think of the anticipation.
We often want God to work fast. What if we had to wait 30 years?
~700 Years before Christ
Isaiah 7:14, NKJV
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
Prophecies relating to Christmas:
http://www.jeffkouba.com/SundaySchool/ChristmasProphecies.htm
1 comment:
Ha Ha, I like the name of your post!
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