If you love a good story, Christmas is the time for you. Seasonal classics abound! There are perennial favorites: “A Christmas Carol,” “It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Miracle On 34th Street,” and Dr. Seuss’s, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.” Do you notice any similarities among the tales? I believe there is one: an element of the miraculous! Christmas is a time of miracles. Just look at the pages of Scripture: The bright star appeared, prophecies were fulfilled, angels filled the sky, and Magi came and left like genies. God was orchestrating miraculous events like a symphony conductor, but the greatest miracle of Christmas happened when a young virgin gave birth to the Savior.
The virgin birth, more accurately termed the virgin conception, is the most important event at Christmas. Why? God entered our world. That seems simple, but the implications are profound. If Jesus were just an ordinary man with an ordinary birth then he may have been “an illegitimate child” as the religious leaders of his day charged (John 8:41,48). Maybe he was just another good teacher (Matthew 16:13-17). But Jesus was not just an ordinary man! He was both God and man as the name Immanuel proclaims.
As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and he will be called Immanuel (meaning, God is with us).” (Matthew 1:20-23 NLT)
The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus is not the son of Joseph and Mary, but the Son of God. Only the Son of God can live a perfect life. Only the Son of God can say, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Only the Son of God can die as our substitute. Only the Son of God has the power to forgive our sins, enter our lives, and change our world.
God entered the womb of a virgin. Miraculous? Yes! Amazing? Absolutely! But look at it this way: because God entered Mary’s world, he can live in your world too. You can talk with him on the drive to work, consult with him at the office, and lean on him in your trial. You can enjoy his presence always. That is miraculous! That is amazing!
FOCAL POINT: Thank God for his presence in your world. Ask him to give you someone today with whom you can share “The Greatest Miracle Of Christmas.”
Copyright © 2009 Tommy Kiedis