The Eagle Magazine
It's That Time of Year
You are no doubt listening to Christmas music, whether you want to or
not; the children are getting ready for their part in the Nativity Play, the
malls and stores are overflowing with shoppers, Christmas lights and
trees are every where, December is here.
As Christians, we are turning our thoughts toward the story, the most
important story of all time, the story of Jesus Christ and specifically the
story of his birth. There is a bit of a preamble to this story and it has to
do with Zacharias and Elizabeth and the miraculous birth of John the Baptist.
This opening story ,found in the first chapter of Luke's gospel, finishes
with Mary, the expectant mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth up in the hill
country of Judah, the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth. There the
Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth, Mary and even John in the womb. Then Mary utters The Magnificat!
It's interesting to me that the name of the village where this happens is
not mentioned in scripture and while there are many who have strong opinions on where they believe this took place; no one living on
earth today can say for sure the exact place where this happened. Sometimes, I chuckle a little when I read impassioned arguments for this town or village because surely if God had wanted us to know he would have told us.
It's part of the mystery of Christmas, one more secret not yet revealed and it's only fitting that this story so full of mystery should start with one. The understanding of the word mystery here will help. Webster defines it this way, "a religious truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand."
How is Jesus God and man at the same time; how can the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be three yet only one God; how can Mary, a virgin girl, conceive and have a son? These are just a few of the mysteries of the Christmas story. What was the Christmas Star that led the wise men to Jesus? Why were Shepherds told of the birth of the Christ child but not the Priest and Levites of the day? There are more parts of the story that leave us scratching our heads than those that we fully understand.
Back in 2020, when Helen and I were in Israel, we visited the hill country and our guide even showed us the place, considered by many, to be the home of John the Baptist, but he emphasized that even though many claim this spot; we could not know for sure. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I was overwhelmed to see the house of Peter and John where Jesus lived during his earthly ministry. I also was moved in many other places I visited, but long before I visited the Holy Land, I had trusted Christ and he was just as real to me the day of my salvation as he was the day I visited his empty tomb. This too is a mystery, perhaps the greatest mystery of all. How can a lost sinful creature become a child of God; how can a mere mortal experience the joy of eternal salvation? I certainly can't explain it, and yet I know it's true.
The Christmas story is the story of God's unlimited love for the lost and dying world. Now...tell me, why would God love us? Right, I can't explain it either, but like Andre Crouch wrote in his Tribute of Praise, " I don't know why he loved me like he did, but I'm so glad, so glad he did."
