The Christmas Story – Forever
on God’s Mind
I am
sure through all your years of life, a story about Christmas you have heard,
But
today I tell you the true Christmas story starts even before these words:
“In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Earlier
than He made any of this, God thought up a plan for Jesus’ birth.
He
hadn’t yet formed the water, built up mountains or planted the first tree,
But He
already knew how good and holy He wanted each one of us to be.
With
His perfect plan in His mind, He had the wonderful idea of you and me,
So He
began molding His design, knitting us together, wanting to set us free.
God
showed off His creativity – He painted flowers and butterflies to color the
world so bright,
He made
lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!), and stuck a moon in the sky to reflect
sunlight.
He was
an Artist, whose imagination filled the air with birds and the seas with fish.
He was
Eden’s Gardener, the Master and Friend who could fulfill our every wish.
As far
as people go, Adam was the first one into whom He breathed life,
Then,
it wasn’t long until God made another in His image to be Adam’s wife.
This
first mom and dad have more to do with Christmas than many might believe,
Because
the very first promise of our Savior as a child had to do with mother Eve.
Unfortunately,
though, our story has a dark and scary part,
As any tale
does when evil puts doubt in a good person’s heart.
Adam
and Eve were fooled into thinking they could outsmart God, and they lied,
Suddenly,
they were doing wrong and spreading blame, and eventually they died.
It was a
tragedy to know God was mad at man, and we might lose His love,
There
was nothing we could do on our own. Help would have to come from above.
Adam
brought sin to us, which taught us to be bad. How could we ever cope?
Thank
God! He planned ahead of time a way to provide freedom and a hope!
God
allowed folks to have prophets and laws to guide them until the timing was just
right,
But
everyone needed a better Gift that would be revealed on Christmas night.
Sin is
so bad; it can’t be fixed with just another rule.
It
would take a miracle to heal the human race.
The law
alone would be a useless tool.
The
answer was to send, once for all, an overflow of God’s grace!
Against
his enemy, Satan, God would deal a fatal blow when He struck this nerve,
He did
the unthinkable and sent His own Son, an offering that none of us deserve.
There
would be no need for Santa to double check a list of who is naughty or nice,
No, all
sins would be forgiven and salvation would come only through Jesus Christ!
The perfect
plan from before time that God had had along was now made known,
2000
years ago, a young woman learned that she would have a child of her own.
It took
some time to set the stage for His dramatic arrival here,
But God
wanted to provide all the clues so when it happened, it would be clear!
Clue
number one was given so long ago in a promise to help us avoid a scam,
It was
kept when Jesus was born to bless all people through the line of Abraham.
More
impressive is how we were told of many more branches on His family tree,
And it
all came to pass about Isaac, Jacob, and others in His genealogy.
But God
would not leave it at that or some could call it coincidence,
So He
gave us predictions of the time and place of these incidents.
Think,
for instance, of what we heard when we read Hosea 11, verse one.
Just as
it stated, centuries later, God called out of Egypt His very own Son.
And if
the exact small town could be foretold, well, that would be nice,
So,
Jesus being born in Bethlehem mentioned by Micah makes one think twice.
What
about Malachi’s mention of the Temple, which in A.D. 70 they will destroy?
So it
is truly amazing when the Lord Jesus enters it as a boy!
Yes,
all of these proofs help strengthen our faith in the Christmas story,
Yet I’ve
saved the best for last, the most famous of all, a feat of God’s glory!
Never
before and never since has there been such a mystery in all the world,
The
magic of Christmas is the birth of the Christ child to Mary, a virgin girl.
Now,
with all the prophecies fulfilled and the main event finally here,
Let’s
put things in order and celebrate His coming this year.
With
all that’s been said, we know God’s idea was always on His mind.
On to
the details of this turning point in history that is oh so divine.
This
Christmas season, see it afresh as the scene has been set with all the clues,
Follow
the action as the characters are ready for their cues.
God’s
angel, Gabriel, gets us started by telling Zechariah what is going on,
His
wife, Elizabeth, will be having a son that they are to give the name John.
Zechariah
was speechless for a while because his wife was well along in years,
But
Gabriel went on to pronounce a blessing to Mary and alleviate her fears.
Finding
favor with God, she received the report, “You will give birth to a son!”
Since
nothing is impossible with God, his name will be Jesus, Savior to everyone.
Mary
was soon to be married to Joseph who was upset by this course.
He was
a good man in confusion, and thought it best to quietly divorce.
Till
God directly intervened to help Joe out and show him there is no need to fuss,
“For
Mary’s Son is of the Spirit. He is Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us.’!”
Joseph
was glad he could wed and help Mary with this situation she was in,
And
more rejoicing came their way when she went to visit her cousin.
Still,
though, this story being real life, includes taxes and a decree,
So, in
due time, the young couple would have to travel from the region of Galilee.
Farewell
to Nazareth, they made their way to crowded Bethlehem,
Where
they found no rooms available to welcome the world’s greatest Gem!
It is
good to know God’s eternal plan did not depend on enough space at the inn,
The
Almighty, full of grace and truth, walked among us to save us from our sin!
Meanwhile,
back in the field, some sheepish folks tended their flock at night,
Only to
be taken aback by a heavenly guest with a dramatic flair surrounded by glorious
light.
The
angel declared, “I bring great news of a baby boy, which is Christ the Lord!”
The
shepherds were astonished by the sight and the sound as more angels joined in
one accord.
At
once, the shepherds decided there is no need for this saving babe to still be a
stranger,
So,
they went to find the two new parents with Jesus wrapped, lying in a manger.
They
could not hold it in as they shared with Joseph and Mary their joy.
And
they praised God for all they had seen and heard concerning the baby boy!
It had
been eight days since the shepherds took their short, adventurous trip,
Which
meant it was time to be brought before the Lord for a holy “snip, snip.”
One
thing was for certain, Jesus passed the test.
Sacrifices
were made and by Simeon, Jesus was blessed.
Word
had reached some wise men that the king of the Jews had been born.
They
followed a star in the East, but King Herod, they inadvertently warned.
This
Herod was mean and did not want the newborn child to live very long,
But
Joseph and Mary received the wise men’s gifts, and Jesus proved too strong.
God’s
plan was amazing and a huge success.
It
would change everything forever and clean up our mess.
Jesus
had brought God’s full love to the whole world, then and now!
It was
always on God’s mind from before creation to save us somehow.
The
“somehow” is the reason for this season. It is the baby Jesus who grew into the
God-man.
But
don’t be mistaken to think it started there because the Christmas story was written
before time even began.
Scripture References
Genesis 1-3
Ephesians 1:4-14
Psalm 139:13-16
Romans 5:12-21
Romans 8:3
(Romans 2-8)
Galatians 3
Hebrews 8-10
John 3:16-21
John 14:5-7
Acts 2:22-36
Acts 4:12
Matthew 1-2
Luke 1-2
Genesis 12, 17:19, 49:10
Numbers 24:17
Jeremiah 23:5-6
Luke 3:33
Hosea 11:1
Micah 5:2
Malachi 3:1
Isaiah 7:14
John 1
For further reading: Genesis 1, John 1, Ephesians 1:3-14, Col. 1:15-23, Hebrews 1, 1 Peter 1:3-21
