The Christmas Story (2012)
Merry Christmas!
We have been talking about the coming of Christmas here at Southern Hills for the past month and it is finally right around the corner. We have been working hard to keep our focus this Christmas season. Our prayer has been that you will have seen through the many distractions that come along with Christmas here in America and remember what we are really building up to and what we are really celebrating. This season is all about the gift that God gave us 2,000 years ago on Christmas in His Son Jesus. We spent the past 4 weeks talking through why this gift of Jesus is so amazing, why He is the best gift that God could have ever given, why He was the only gift that could satisfy and meet our deepest needs.
As we approach Christmas I wanted to take this week to be reminded of how God gave us this amazing gift. How did Jesus, God’s Son, come to Earth 2,000 years ago? When we think of the Christmas story what immediately pops into your head? For me it is the nativity scene. We see them in people’s yards, in front of some businesses, on Christmas cards, in homes and they all remind us of what took place 2,000 years ago. A Savior was born in a very humble manner. While nativity scenes paint a very beautiful picture of what took place when Jesus was born into this world, they fail to tell the full story of what took place. When we look at a nativity scene we see a peaceful adoring mother with a calm father overlooking his family. There are quiet shepherds peaking in on the new child. Wise Men are kneeling before the newborn Jesus. An angel is hovering and there are barn animals aplenty.
While the nativity scene is beautiful it fails to show the scandal and controversy that followed Jesus’ mother. It does not speak to the great shame that Joseph felt early in the Christmas story. It does not speak to the danger that was lurking. All of these aspects are important to the story as they underscore the mighty work of God as He gave us the gift of Jesus as well as the great faith of those in our story. The story of the first Christmas is not a bland one where everything goes smoothly and there are no issues. It is a dramatic story written by God. Jesus came into the world exactly as God planned. The dramatic events that led up to the birth of Jesus and even followed His birth were part of the story that God was writing to reveal Himself in a unique and supernatural way. Only God could have orchestrated events like this. Only He could have fulfilled prophecy the way He did.
(Luke 1-2)