A Christmas Gift- Part 1


Christmas reminds us of God's greatest gift, Jesus Christ our Messiah. God loves us so much, he sent His only son to come to Earth, surrender His reign so to take on the flesh of man and become vulnerable to man's injustices.

Christ had to surrender and submit to the will of His father in order to accomplish His designated purpose, to be the ultimate sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. In God's design, the only way for Him to give mercy on us was to have love expressed in such a way as sacrificial giving. Christ not only loved His father, but us as well, yes even you and me. How do you think Christ learned the discipline of surrender and submission? Don't you think He learned it from His parents Mary and Joseph?  

Think of Mary. As you look at the story of Christ's birth in the scripture reference above, Gabriel came to Mary said that she was favored by God. He then told her that God wanted her to conceive a son and name him Jesus. Think about this for a minute. You are minding your business, doing whatever and all the sudden Gabriel shows up and tells you that you are favored by God and he wants you to be His son's mother. Can you imagine how she felt just with the presence of Gabriel? After all, this was probably not an ever day occurrence for her. Not only was that enough, but to be called by God? Me? Are you talking to me? Really? I am just me. Then she could have thought...What an inconvenience! How would she tell Joseph? What would he think? Would he divorce her (Engagement then was as much of a legal bond as marriage is today)? She was planning her wedding, her life.

Gabriel reassured her by telling her not to be afraid. I can see and hear her now...Ooo..Kkk..aay. If that was not enough, he proceeds to tell her that she is to conceive a son. I can imagine how weird that may have been as she expressed her uncertainty by explaining to Gabriel in Luke 1:34 that she was a virgin. Now she could not even have control over every mothers delight of naming the child. Mary could have put the law down and expressed her demands. But she did not. She knew she had to submit. Joy overcame her. She sang of delight and pondered how others would be blessed. She surrendered and submitted because she understood the purpose of the call.

Luke 2:1-20


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