Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1-20

Certain Love

I.                    Christmas is the season of the certainty of God’s love fully revealed in Christ; so we must trust obediently and faithfully in Him in seasons of certainty and uncertainty & hope and hopelessness

a.   We find Mary and Joseph in what had to be a season of great uncertainty in their young lives. For all they were absolutely certain of; she was pregnant in a miraculous way with a miraculous child, they had to be just as uncertain about literally everything else. One moment they had to feel like the special agents of God’s blessing that they were, and the next moment they had to feel like two insignificant young people in a throng of travelers, confused and overwhelmed, no one paying any attention to them, or even really seeing them. They were weary from the arduous 90-mile journey, and must have been weary from the weight of the unknown. What did all this mean, what happens next; everything must have seemed certain and uncertain, and exciting and terrifying at the same time?!

b.   We find the shepherds, sitting in the dark, literally and figuratively. Outcasts, ostracized, untrusted, and left to their lowly work. Out of sight and out of mind, their lives were a perpetual season of hopelessness. The only significance they could likely find in life, was that many of the sheep they tended would become sacrifices to God in the temple for the sins of the people. But even as they tended the sheep of sacrifice, they themselves were considered unclean and were unable to enter the temple themselves for long periods of time. Would their lives ever really amount to anything? Would anyone ever really care about them?

c.   They all longed for more. Mary and Joseph long for certainty, that God would further illuminate their path. The shepherds longed for God to move in their lives and bring hope and purpose. Have you ever felt like them, experienced seasons of life similar to them? Have you ever felt like there had to be more to life, but you didn’t know what it was or when it would happen? You knew you wanted more and needed more, but didn’t know what it was or if it would come? There’s no peace in seasons like that!

II.                 Christmas is the season of the certainty of God’s love fully revealed in Christ; so we must listen and respond to the angel’s message of good news of great joy for all the people, their message of salvation and peace.

a.   Mary and Joseph had gotten to where they were in God’s plan and purpose by trusting faithfully in Him and following Him obediently. Their path hadn’t been illuminated too far out in front of them, but they were faithful to take the next step God had shown them! Often times in our lives, peace comes in merely trusting God for the light for just the next step!

b.   The shepherds longed for hope and purpose. The light that God had shed on them that night, didn’t just light up the darkness of that night, but was the Light of Life and peace that brought hope and purpose to who they were, exclusively because of who He is, and not because of what the world thought or what season of life in which they found themselves. They responded in obedience, praise, and rejoicing, and found God to be wholly faithful to all He said. When the events of the evening had come to their conclusion, the shepherds didn’t return to a new career or newfound respect in the community. It appeared their season of life hadn’t changed at all, but it had. It had changed completely through the salvation and hope of God expressed through Christ. They entered their field that night, in the dark, with no hope, and unloved by the world. They returned to the same field with their lives illuminated by the hope of Christ, and lavished in the grace, mercy, and love of God!

c.   That’s the message of Christmas. God inaugurated a season of love in Christ that transcends all other seasons; and when we trust obediently and faithfully in Him, His completed work on the cross, and the victory He won over the grave, we remain in and are defined at all times by the certainty of His great love.

d.   Christmas is the season of God’s love, fully revealed in Christ, which defines our whole lives. He alone brings salvation and peace, hope, purpose, joy, and fulfillment…even in the most uncertain times, and even in the darkest of nights! He sent it as a gift; not one wrapped in expensive paper, with a perfect bow, and nestled under a perfect Douglas Fir; but One wrapped in rags and nestled in a feeding trough. No other gift and no other season can compare to, or impact our lives, like the One we celebrate at Christmas!