Month: December 2020

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:14

This is the song that burst forth from the angels on the night Jesus was born. Not just a couple angels who didn’t have anything else to do, but a vast host – the armies of heaven – all praising God (Luke 2:13). The entire orientation of heaven is to glorify God. All of heaven acknowledges that God has proven Himself and His ways to be most excellent and praiseworthy (Matthew 6:10). The angels knew what His arrival in the tiny town of Bethlehem meant, they just couldn’t hold back or keep quiet.

That arrival was the physical, visible proof of God’s favor, His unending love and commitment to us. It showed that His will towards us is good (Jeremiah 29:11). The whole point of His coming was to put an end to the hostility between God and man, to establish a permanent peace (Colossians 1:20).

Isn’t it incredible? God’s favor rests on mankind, despite all that we have done. Despite our smallness, our insignificance. We haven’t earned His favor or deserved it – He gives it simply because He loves us (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). And His favor remains with us because His love endures forever (Lamentations 3:22). He is steadfast even though we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). He will never love us less.

The response to what God has done can be none other than GLORY! Wow! He deserves the praise of both heaven and earth. His birth is the proof that God will make good on every one of His promises. What He’s said about Himself is true. What He’s said He will do on our behalf, He will do. The forgiveness, the restoration, the healing, the redemption, the victory – all of it. It kind of makes you feel like singing.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6

“There was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:7 BSB

We expect there to be room. 

Since God chose Mary for the arduous task of bearing His Son, shouldn’t He have made things a little easier, smoothed the path a little?  She’d already endured gossip and stares.  She’d carried both the Savior and the weight of her neighbors’ condemnation.  For a time, her hopes seemed dashed even as she carried the Hope of the world.

We tend to think if we’re doing what God wants us to do, it should be easy.  But the truth is, if we’re doing what God wants us to do, we’re going to face opposition.  And I think God allows us to face those hard things because they can be good for us.  On the hard path, we draw closer to Him, we learn to lean on Him and rely on Him more fully.  We get to see how He works up close.  We get to be front row as He does “only God” things.  When we venture down the path God has chosen for us, we see more clearly that He is God, and we are not.  

When Mary accepted her commission, she said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants” (Luke 2:38).  What happened next wasn’t easy.  Mary received both blessing and trial.  I doubt she wanted to take a long trip late in her pregnancy, or give birth in a stable.  Jesus entered the world through her blood, sweat and tears.  When she took Jesus to the Temple a short time later for his baby dedication, a man named Simeon told her, “This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing.  But he will be the greatest joy to many others. Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:34-35).  Not the kind of sentiments you’d expect on a baby card.

I don’t know why there was no room for Mary and Joseph at that inn.  But God didn’t make a mistake in sending them to the stable.  Perhaps it was the only place the shepherds would be welcome.  Perhaps it foreshadowed how the world would receive Jesus. God isn’t under an obligation to reveal His reasons to us (Isaiah 55:8). Instead He invites us to trust Him, to do what He says even when it seems like it doesn’t make much sense.  Especially when we ourselves would have chosen another way.  Choosing to do things our own way rather than trusting God’s guidance is what got us into trouble in the first place (Genesis 3:6).

How fortunate we are that God is in the making-things-right business!   Every “it’s not supposed to be like this” – including yours – will be made right.  If you will trust God as Mary did, you will carry Hope inside you.  Not just for a short time, but for all time (2 Corinthians 13:5).  Hope that will empower you to do what is difficult, to pass through where you least wish to go, and ultimately show you that God can be trusted with your life.