Monday, December 25, 2017
First Christmas Day
Luke 1:30-31 Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
A GREAT AND MIGHTY WONDER!
On the first Christmas there were no decorated trees or houses, no special lights, no people hustling around Bethlehem searching for that last minute gift. But there was a special event that took place, almost unnoticed, that changed the world forever. An event that had been longed for since the Fall-- the fulfillment of God's grace to mankind, the birth of our Savior in that most humble of delivery rooms! In our day all the lights decorating all the streets and homes throughout the world that shine so brightly in the night cannot even begin to compare to the Light of Life that was born on that first Christmas.
Imagine how Mary must have felt when she was told by Gabriel that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah! A mighty and holy angel, who stands before the face of God, appears to her announcing that she would be the mother of the Savior, the Redeemer of mankind.
Mary realized the honor she was given. She was a woman who understood her own sinfulness and trusted God's promise to send the Christ to be her Savior. She had faithfully waited and looked for the coming of the promised Messiah and now she was told that she would be His mother!
Mary was humbled and shaken by the wondrous blessing given her. She would conceive by the power of God the Holy Spirit! In this most glorious and merciful act. God would become man to save mankind. God's undeserved love for our world of sinners gave to us a Savior from sin.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).
All that Mary saw and heard must have been truly overwhelming, but we see faith in Mary's heart-- thankful praise and humble rejoicing for the gift given by God to our lost and fallen world. Mary, like us, had her problems and her sinful nature to deal with, but in Spirit-worked faith she gave us a wondrous example of living faith, placing her Savior first. As we once more celebrate the day of our Savior's birth let us follow Mary's example in celebrating the Christ Child with faith, humility, and joy! Have A Mary Christmas!
