“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Jesus, He is the reason we celebrate Christmas. He came to earth as a baby and was born in a manger. His birth was simple, His mother a young girl, His earthly father a carpenter, they had traveled to Bethlehem for the census but had no place to lay their head. There was no room for them. But the time had come for her to give birth so He was born in a stable with smelly animals and hay and His mother laid Him in a manger to sleep. The most humble of beginnings for anyone but why did God allow this for His son, His only son Jesus, to be born in such a simple, humble beginning? But even with the simplistic form of Jesus birth, God sent angels to announce the birth of His son on a hillside to shepherds who were just doing their job. The shepherds had probably counted the sheep and made sure all were accounted for and were laying their heads down for the night. Maybe they were joking and laughing, maybe they were tired from a long day, but suddenly an angel appeared to them and told them.
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12
And then there were a multitude of angels and they were praising God.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:14
So Jesus was born in the humblest of beginnings but also with all the pomp and circumstance of angels announcing His birth. Only God could accomplish both. Humble yet magnificent all at the same time.
Jesus came to earth to show us how to live, how to worship, how to turn our hearts toward Him. He walked this earth and He showed all the human emotions, He wept, He rejoiced, He loved, He ministered, He taught, He even got angry and yet He remained fully God and fully man. So is it any wonder that His birth was simple yet magnificent? Is it any wonder that He had shepherds and wise men seeking Him out?Is it any wonder that the Son of God was born in a manger yet the angels announced His birth? Because He is the wonder! Because He came for all mankind. Not just for one, not just for one people group but for all! God certainly covered all the bases with His birth, maybe because that is how His earthly life would be lived out. We can know Him as all things because He IS all things to all people.
I pray that today and every day really He will be your wonder! I pray you will seek Him out when you need a counselor! I pray that when the situation is hard and you don’t know what to pray that you will simply pray “God be mighty for me.” Sometimes when I don’t know what or how to pray, I just pray “God, just be God in this.” I pray when you need a Father, you will turn to Him as your Everlasting Father. Whether you had a good example of an earthly father or not, I pray you can look to Jesus to be yours. And even in the midst of hard days, hard seasons and hard years, I pray that we can all look to Him as our Prince of Peace!
Merry Christmas to you and your families!
Restore 