Just Another Day

Christmas is about God's doing whatever it takes to be with us--and our doing whatever it takes to be with Him. He climbed down from the throne in heaven to get to you. Climb over the throes of Christmas to get to Him." Ann Voskamp - The Greatest Gift

The last few days of Advent...Mary and Joseph are getting close to Bethlehem. A certain star is shifting to do its work, when it will point to the infant about to be born. I can envision angelic beings swirling round in the upper atmosphere in holy excitement. I imagine that the very air was charged with supernatural electricity. And yet, on earth, all seemed so quiet and "normal." Shepherds watching their flocks in the hills, travelers crowding into the small town to find lodging. There really wasn't a single thing to indicate that God was about to perform the greatest miracle ever...to take a physical form. He wasn't just going to appear here; He was going to BE BORN here, to LIVE here, to DIE here. This would be like nothing the world had ever even dreamt of. Oh of course, the idea of a Messiah was as old as the hills, but what was really behind it all? Well, I'm not sure anyone got that. This would be the ultimate act of love, begun in Bethlehem and finished at the cross of Calvary, yet continuing for eternity.

As I think about the days leading up to His birth, I again marvel at the fact that He chose to do whatever it took to have us with Him. I am dumbstruck by His love. I am humbled by my own lack of worthiness. I am honored at His gift.

Take a Five Minute Walk

Take a walk with God today and ponder all the everyday, humdrum happenings that were going on in and around Bethlehem just a few short days before the birth that would forever change everything and compare it to your everyday life today. Then stop and think about the angel, the star, and what waited inside the swollen belly of an average young girl. Ask Him to help you absorb the wonder, the mystery, and the miracle that waits just around the corner!