First Christmas

12.03.07

Luke 1:30

I love Christmas. I love everything about it. But, think about that first Christmas.

Think about a young teenage girl being visited by an angel. Unlike what we see on TV today, evidently being visited by an angel is less like a walk in the park and more like being caught inside at pipeline – SCARY! We learn a great deal about what Mary values by what calms her down. “Do not be afraid, Mary…” check it out, here comes the insight. “…You have found favor with God.” Did you see that? Knowing God was pleased was all it took. Mary didn’t need a signed contract promising everything would be okay or a detailed plan of how this would play out. All that mattered was that God was pleased.

As you enter this wonderful season of the year, are there any struggles in your life, anything scary? Does knowing that God is pleased matter so much to you that it makes everything okay? Are you living in a way that pleases God? The first Christmas didn’t begin with the excitement of the shepherds and the angel chorus. It began with Mary rethinking what mattered to her. Was it her safety, her plan for her life, her comfort or was it that she “found favor with God?” What matters to you this Christmas? Who do you surf for?