This year, the Christmas story (Luke 2) speaks to me in a new way. Don't get me wrong, I always value and cherish the truth of my Savior being born. Without Him, I would not have life...I would not have hope. This year, I am not only looking at the truth of Jesus, our Messiah, being born, but I am also looking at the feelings and emotions of Joseph, Mary and Jesus as God was in Heaven trying to carry out His greatest gift of love to all people.
Looking at Mary, we think how special she was to be chosen by God to give birth to the Savior of the world! She was highly favored by God because of her sincere heart and obedience to Him. But being favored by God doesn't mean life was perfect or easy for Mary. She still struggled with fear, sadness and discouragement. She was pregnant and not married yet, and during that time you were shunned and disrespected for having sex before marriage. She had to feel so lonely and like an outcast among her family and society. She was engaged to be married to Joseph. Instead of enjoying the excitement of being engaged and planning a wedding, she would be carrying a child for 9 months and becoming a mother. At the time of giving birth, she was probably thinking, "You've asked me to give birth to a King and here I am in the dirt and where horses and cows eat and poop??...this is so unsanitary for a new baby!" Once being a mother, she had to feel a huge responsibility! She was not only being a mom for the first time, but she was raising a King and Savior of the World. "What if I lead him the wrong direction or don't teach him enough or can't get him to eat his veggies?," she must have been thinking. But with all of the fear, loneliness, worry and discouragement, Mary still obeyed God. Her words say it best in Luke 1:38, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
Joseph was a follower of God and a man of integrity. He must have felt humiliated finding out that his fiance' was pregnant and the child wasn't his. Even after being obedient to God's request to still take Mary as his wife he had to be thinking, "This is so crazy! I saw this going differently in my head." He would have had humiliation from society as well, with them all thinking HE got her pregnant. The responsibility of protecting Mary during her pregnancy with the future King had to weigh heavy upon him. During King Herod's massacre of baby boys, Joseph had to be feeling fear and anxiety. He was obedient to what God told him to do, but he was probably so worried he would make one wrong move and destroy the future of the world. As Jesus grew up, Joseph had so much responsibility upon him to raise the Messiah and teach him the ways of God. It wasn't at all what he pictured his life to be, but he obeyed God.
You would think if God was going to have His Son, the Savior of the world, born on earth, He would go BIG! Maybe born of royalty or in the best hospital in the world (with His own private floor of course) or not even having to be born...just God speaking and Him appearing. But that's not how God works. He had a higher purpose for Jesus' life, from pre-birth to death and resurrection. His life is an example for us to follow, one of humility, servanthood, love, obedience, prayer and faith in the unseen. As Jesus grew up, He had to at times felt like he was not being treated fairly for the title that He carried. This is not how a king should be raised. Just before his death on the cross, he even prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." He definitely experienced loneliness, rejection, physical pain and sadness. But He went on to say in Matthew 26:39, "Yet not as I will, but as you will." Jesus didn't enjoy having to be in pain, face so many demands and struggle so much with flesh and spirit, but He obeyed God. He knew that God had a higher purpose and plan.
This Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of our Savior, yet still struggle with loneliness, fear and anxiety, job loss and financial struggles, purpose, sickness and pain, infertility and loss of a child, loss of a loved one, stress, rejection and everyday decisions, and wonder how you will make it through....just remember there is beauty around the corner! Because of Mary's, Joseph's and Jesus' obedience to God, beauty came from the manger! If they would have hesitated, or decided to do things their own way, the future of the world could have been different. So whether small or large, I know everyone faces some kind of struggle and I say a prayer for you! Stay strong in prayer, keep your faith in God and choose to be obedient. We may be the vessel for God's beauty to shine just as beauty came from a manger.
Merry Christmas!
