Dec 23

Good News of Great Joy

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12

What an amazing story is that of Jesus’ birth. The son of the Almighty God, the ruler of the Universe is born in an ordinary town, to ordinary parents, wrapped in ordinary strips of cloth, lain in an ordinary feeding trough on ordinary hay and to who does the LORD send his heavenly hosts to welcome the newborn King but some ordinary shepherds. Not quite the way you or I would have planned the entrance of the tiny King We would have planned an extravagant entrance, one fitting the Son of God, but then again we don’t have the wild imagination of Jehovah. He likes to take the ordinary and turn it into the EXTRA ordinary. Everything about that night was extraordinary, because that was the night that God began to unfold to the world the plan of salvation. By sending His Son he turned an ordinary night into an extraordinary night, one which we will be ever grateful for. During this season of giving, let us be ever mindful of the most extraordinary gift ever given to each of us ordinary people, the gift of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Father, thank You for Your extraordinary gift of Jesus. We thank You for giving such an extraordinary gift to such ordinary people. We will never be worthy of such generosity, but we are grateful. Thank You from the bottom of our hearts. Amen