What I can’t seem to get past this Christmas season is just how “regular” the Christmas story appears. I mean, of course, it’s not regular—Mary, a virgin, has a baby—it’s definitely high on the supernatural spectrum of things. But Mary and Joseph are just regular people. They live regular lives. In other words, they are not the obvious choice for bringing forth the Son of God. I mean, that would require fanfare and extravagance and notice and attention. It’s God coming to us in human form—surely it’s going to be something that people see and take note of! But that’s not what we see unfolding in the Christmas story. Instead of fanfare, we get a stable (and by all accounts, we’re lucky to get that). Instead of kings, we get shepherds. Instead of religious leaders familiar with all of the texts and prophecies and knowledge of the coming Messiah, we get two young people who—let’s be honest—are probably scared to death. Instead of worldwide proclamations, we get a sleepy little town that has no idea anything of importance has just happened. But isn’t that just like the Lord? Veiling the extraordinary in the unextraordinary? Using the foolish things to confound the wise? It’s baffling. And humbling. And awesome. In the very first chapter of the Gospel of John, we find out who this little baby actually is: the eternal Word. One with God, and the Creator and Sustainer of all things. I love John 1 for this reason. There is no mistake. This little baby isn’t just some cool prophet that’s going to say some important things—this little baby is God eternal. Who became flesh and dwelt among us. God eternal, who for 30 of his 33 years on this earth, lived a regular life. He just lived! And this is what I’ve been chewing on for the last month. So as we come upon this extraordinarily regular day, I’d like to leave you with a little bit of encouragement.
We have a God who knows what it is to be human. We’re not talking about a distant deity who has to muster up some semblance of sympathy when we come to Him with our needs. We’re talking about a God who is at all times personal, and near, and understands what it is to live. To actually be human. He knows what it is to sit around a table with family and friends and share meal—and laugh, and tell inside jokes, and remember funny stories. He knows what it is to do a hard day of work, and be physically exhausted. He knows what it is to experience the loss of someone near and loved—to feel the grief that accompanies it. He knows what it is to be tired, and hungry, and sad. He knows what ordinary days feel like—and the small moments that fill us with absurd amounts of joy. He gets it. He lived it. And more than that, He chose to live it. Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” The eternal Word chose to live among us—as one of us—in all our vulnerable state. But why?
We have a God who invites us in to the extraordinary. If we look back at the first chapter of John, it tells us that in this eternal Word is life. That in Him and through Him, He gives us the right to become children of God. In spite of our lowly state—and our constant struggle with sin—here is the eternal Word reaching out to us and meeting us where we are, in order that we may have life with Him. He came and dwelt among us so that we may be saved through Him. Take that in. Because that is the Christmas story. I’ll say it again—the eternal Word chose to live among us as one of us so that He could bring us into His family. That’s extraordinary. Earlier this week, we challenged Eagle Students to read the Christmas story as accounted in the Gospel of Luke. We told them to pay attention to who was invited in to the story – who got to know about it? Who got to participate? I’d like to challenge you to do the same. Read Luke 1:26-2:20. Pay attention to who is involved and who gets invited in to the story. Once you’ve done that, consider this: this ordinary extraordinary story is not over. You’ve been invited in by a God who knows you, and wants to give you life. An extraordinary life. Will you accept the invitation?