“Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.” (Matthew 1:18-25) His mother, Mary, engaged to be married to Joseph but while still a virgin, became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. How do you understand this mystery? How do you grasp this unfathomable conception of the Messiah in the womb of Mary? Joseph and Mary had their own challenges of belief and understanding as they were caught up in this amazing and bewildering moment of God's grace.
How is a child conceived by the Holy Spirit, seeming so impossible and improbable? How do you understand such a child? Here is an equally profound question: How do you grasp the conception of Jesus in you? The cumulative weight of scripture of this truth, however, is much like the appearance of the angel to Joseph and Mary—because God wants Jesus to come alive in us, too. He wants us to become as Jesus in our world and to our world, and He promises to do this by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God came into our world in Jesus Christ, conceived in the womb of Mary without the intervention of a human father. Let's also remember that God wants to come into our world through us: our words, our influence, our character, our actions, our conversion, our work, our witness and our transformation. The same Spirit that conceived and empowered the Lord Jesus is also at work in all of us to conform us to Jesus, and to empower us to serve like Jesus.
In these holy-days of Christmas and the year to come, let us re-awaken our hearts to the wonders of God's grace in the birth of Jesus from the womb of Mary, and in the birth of Jesus into our lives. Both of these miraculous realities are necessary to show God's grace to our world. Let us commit to truly live the life of Jesus before our dark and unbelieving world so that the people around us can know of God's grace, mercy, and love through us. Instead of the Inn, now “Ours the Hearts He seeks for lodging.” Have a very happy and peaceful Christmas, celebrating the birth of our salvation into the world, and into our hearts.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
How is a child conceived by the Holy Spirit, seeming so impossible and improbable? How do you understand such a child? Here is an equally profound question: How do you grasp the conception of Jesus in you? The cumulative weight of scripture of this truth, however, is much like the appearance of the angel to Joseph and Mary—because God wants Jesus to come alive in us, too. He wants us to become as Jesus in our world and to our world, and He promises to do this by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God came into our world in Jesus Christ, conceived in the womb of Mary without the intervention of a human father. Let's also remember that God wants to come into our world through us: our words, our influence, our character, our actions, our conversion, our work, our witness and our transformation. The same Spirit that conceived and empowered the Lord Jesus is also at work in all of us to conform us to Jesus, and to empower us to serve like Jesus.
In these holy-days of Christmas and the year to come, let us re-awaken our hearts to the wonders of God's grace in the birth of Jesus from the womb of Mary, and in the birth of Jesus into our lives. Both of these miraculous realities are necessary to show God's grace to our world. Let us commit to truly live the life of Jesus before our dark and unbelieving world so that the people around us can know of God's grace, mercy, and love through us. Instead of the Inn, now “Ours the Hearts He seeks for lodging.” Have a very happy and peaceful Christmas, celebrating the birth of our salvation into the world, and into our hearts.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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