He came!
Most of us are familiar with the nativity story: Mary, Joseph, the baby, Bethlehem, a stable, shepherds, wise men and so on. It’s easy for us to smile at the familiar and get on with the busyness of Christmas: cards to send, presents to buy, food to organise, family visiting and so on, while still having to go to work, pay the bills and deal with the day to day challenges (like snow!) that don’t let up just because it’s Christmas! This year it’s all complicated with industrial action by those who run some of the services we need to use like post or the railways. Add to that the constant sadness reported on the news that colours the background of our lives. There’s a lot to think about!
Recently on Sunday mornings we’ve been working through Paul’s New Testament letter to the Galatians and two weeks ago we read amazing words of God’s perfect timing:
“…when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…” (Gal 4:4)
Then last Sunday morning as we thought about preparing for Christmas, we looked back into the Old Testament book of Isaiah and saw how the LORD dealt with evil, faithless King Ahaz. There was a great deal going on, including judgement, yet the LORD promised to step into the mess:
“The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
“Immanuel” literally means: “God with us”. Amazingly, the LORD’s plan for us in a broken, chaotic and difficult world was not to turn the other way but to come Himself!
Whatever else takes your time and attention in this season, don’t forget that He kept His promise!
Spencer Shaw