As a worship leader I have to begin listening to Christmas music in July! That’s right; the process of selecting music for the Christmas production begins in summer. Guess it’s a good thing I love Christmas. By the time Christmas is over I am fully ready to put the songs aside. While I may not sing Christmas carols year round, I exalt in the Savior of the story.
Most of us are very familiar with the traditional Christmas story found in Luke 2. Take just a moment to look at the account found in Matthew 1-2. You’ll probably stumble over the names in Matthew 1 of the lineage of Jesus. Many of those names are obscure and unpronounceable to our western tongues. Yet, in that lineage, you’ll find why Jesus came.
In the thousand years of history there you’ll find an odd thing. You’ll see the record of who God used to bring His Son into the world. There were people of renowned & great faith. Then there are women. Not surprising to us, but in eastern culture rarity. You’ll find a prostitute, a foreigner, a victim of incestuous rape & a poor unknown Jewish maiden. There are kings, both great & evil, & simple men of faith.
The whole telling creates questions: “why give us all those names?” and “why choose these flawed characters?” You’d think if God were going to send hope & salvation to a messed up world He’d choose heroes & noble people of character rather than shipwrecked lives. But then again, God’s not obligated to follow our shallow logic. Apparently, He’s out to expose us to the fact we really can’t save ourselves. It completely rests upon His power. He’s out to do the ‘impossible.’ I truly think He’s showing us our restoration is entirely out of our hands.
When God’s angel (heavenly messenger) told them (this ‘first family’ if you will) of God’s plans, they were incredulous & totally confused. So he set it pretty straightforward: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
When Mary couldn’t see how God was going to pull this off,( remember no one had ever seen such a thing & God hadn’t spoken or shown himself in a few hundred years!) the angel told her a simple truth that’s meant to sum up all things godly: “nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37
I simply want to encourage you & me, this year when it looks like there are no answers in sight, when all hope is lost; God is still the God of the impossible. He chose an impossible way to bring His Salvation into our world & to this day is about the task of saving “His people from their sin.”
So, go ahead & pack up the trees & decorations, just leave out the hope! Sure you’ll need it this year. Pack up the nativity, just keep the Savior.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
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ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376
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