There is NO way!
No way a woman who never had sex could have a baby. Thousands of years of biology prove that!
Yet Mary did.
Now, I say that from a position of faith. I believe every word of the Bible, even when I don’t like some of them. There are those who don’t believe it because, you know, biology.
This one fact is crucial to the salvation story. This is how Jesus entered the world sinlessly.
As a kid I thought it was the sex that was sinful so because there was no sex He was sinless. It’s not that at all.
God said that sin entered the world through Adam. He was with Eve when the serpent convinced her to eat and didn’t do anything to stop it, and he could have said no to her offer. For whatever reason, God laid that at Adam’s door and sin was passed down through man ever after, and even now because, you know, biology.
So, in this act of virgin birth, Jesus was not tainted by the blood of sinful man. He lived without sin, yet carried all sin of all mankind for all time to the cross.
God had Isaiah tell of this virgin giving birth over 400 years before it happened to give the people a clue as to Who that baby really was. Maybe 400 years let people forget, maybe they just didn’t believe Isaiah’s prophecy.
They missed it. You know they whispered in the streets the moment young Mary’s belly started showing signs of her pregnancy. There was no way she could be pregnant without having been with a man! Poor Joseph – or had he jumped the gun and taken his bride before it was time? The heads wagged along with the tongues as they missed the miracle.
Believer, let’s be different. Let’s realize the miracle over biology and recognize Isaiah’s words came true.
Let’s choose to see the miracle instead of missing it.
And you? Yes you. The one who is all in turmoil because your home isn’t decorated to look like a Hallmark movie, your gifts aren’t wrapped, your shopping isn’t done…. remember THIS is the miracle of Christmas. It isn’t pine boughs wrapped around the banister just so, it isn’t the perfect tree, it isn’t red and gold and silver.
Give yourself a break. Seriously.
Yes, I do understand. You want to make Christmas brilliant for everyone.
You know what, though? Your friends and family want time with you, not the tinsel. They want to see you happy, not worried if you got the right wrapping paper to match the tree and theme.
So today, give you a break. If you have more gifts to buy, but you have no idea what to get, realize that gift cards aren’t horrible. If you’re giving them to younger people, make the card part of the gift by including a note that it can only be spent on the shopping date you take them on. Then you get to make a memory and they get what they truly want.
And if you’re not up to making the whole turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce meal, put out your best dishes and enjoy pot roast or fried chicken or cold cuts. It’s about the people around the table enjoying each other as they celebrate the coming of the Messiah.
Stop striving my friend. This holiday is all about the sinless child born to take your sins and give you peace and rest.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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© 2019 Faye Stoeffler Bryant
