Christmas

Christmas

As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21

To think that the Creator of the universe was about to be born of a peasant virgin on cold, hard stable ground is astonishing. If I had been given the job of orchestrating Jesus’ arrival on earth, I would have planned something grand. But God’s designs often include humble reversals.

All the way through the Bible, we read of godly men and women whose lives were turned upside down for the sake of God’s plan to deliver good news to mankind. Abraham was asked to leave his homeland, and he eventually became the father of many nations. Joseph was transplanted to Egypt, eventually rising from the pit to a high position of leadership. Moses was floated down the river in a basket to escape death by the king, and he was eventually raised by the king’s daughter. Ruth’s husband died, but she later remarried and became the great-grandmother of King David.

The entrance of Jesus into our human existence was one of the greatest reversals of all time. It didn’t seem to make sense. Jesus—the Prince—was born into the world as a pauper. Just like all of God’s truth, this example of humility gives us great encouragement. Over the course of our lives, we may experience difficult reversals. Even when they don’t seem to make sense to us, we can be grateful that God sometimes uses them in our lives as part of his plan to deliver good news to mankind.

Lord Jesus,

Thank you that you didn’t shun the reversal of taking on human flesh and dying for our sins. When painful reversals happen in our lives, may we run to you for help and eventually accept them as part of your good plan. Amen.