There is something very familiar about the Christmas story... and yet very unfamiliar. The story of that first Christmas is well known. Most could recite the basics. Angels. A young pregnant girl. A long journey to Bethlehem. A first-born son named Jesus. More angels. Shepherds. Wise Men.
And yet it is so unfamiliar. None of us has experienced anything like it. What we believe happened that first Christmas is "other-worldly", miraculous, a one-time spectacular history-making, life-changing event. The appearance and message of the angel Gabriel. The fear and uncertainty of the young girl. The promise of a child without the normal means of conception. None of that is normal, routine, familiar.
What took place that first Christmas is, let's admit it, impossible. I've never been visited by an angel (although I've met others who have). I've never heard of anyone pregnant apart from the usual means of conception (apart from a few wacky "National Inquirer worthy" stories). To not just hear the Christmas story...but to believe it... "For NOTHING will be impossible with God." That hasn't changed!
The details of this impossible Christmas story reveal God's nature and heart. HE who has ALL POWER came to us in weakness. He chose Mary and Joseph not King X and Queen Y. HE who is ALL LOVE came and faced unspeakable evil. From His first cry to His last what He did He did for us. This is good news, GREAT NEWS. PEACE!
