Writer's Block
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I remember the scene from The Nativity Story where Joseph, seeing that Mary had gone into labor, ran frantically from house to inn to house to find a place for them to stay. We all know they ended up in a stable, where she delivered her baby. If I were Mary, as I laid my Son into an animal feeding trough (a manger) to rest, I’d be feeling a little--if not a lot--annoyed at God by that time. I’d be wondering if this baby really was the “Son of the Most High” or if I had really imagined the whole thing. Or worse, was this some cruel joke from above? Is this really how God planned to deliver His beloved Son into the world? Or did He have something else entirely in mind but Joseph and I somehow messed up His timing by taking a wrong turn or lingering too long at our last rest stop? My head would be swirling with doubts and confusion at that point thinking, God, do you even see me right now? But then, what to her wondering eyes should appear but some mangy-looking shepherds fresh from the fields with sheep dung still stuck in their sandals. Filled with wide-eyed wonder, they related their experience with the angels and the announcement that their Savior had just been born! How would they be able to find this baby in the midst of a throng of travelers in an over-booked city? “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Mary may have then realized that Jesus being in a manger was just the distinctive detail that allowed the shepherds to pick him out from all the other crying babies around who were most assuredly not lying in a manger. It kept God from having to make His Son’s arrival more obvious than He wanted to at that point. But I think Mary got a more important message out of the shepherds’ details. I wonder if Mary had to stifle a laugh at that point or if she secretly winked up to heaven, thinking, Okay, message received. You’re fully aware of what’s going on here! For she was assured at that point of what Hagar discovered after she fled Abraham and Sarah in desperation. God appeared to Hagar in such a personal way that she named Him Elroi, meaning “the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). God sent a personal message to Mary through the unknowing shepherds, which said, yes, Mary, I know you have to settle for a feeding trough for now to lay your precious baby in. I see! And I’m using all of this for My perfect plan. Are you in a place right now in your life where you’re wondering if God really sees what you’re going through? Are you asking how He could possibly be using your circumstances for His purposes? If so, take comfort from this story. At some point, God may use an unlikely source, like those shepherds, to give you the confirmation you need that He does indeed see you. Just keep your eyes and heart open so you won’t miss the signs He puts in your life. Elroi is present and intimately aware of every detail of your life. |
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I’ve been mulling over one detail in Luke’s account of the birth of Christ, which is really Mary’s account because Luke wasn’t there and had to rely on her memory. Knowing that he probably got most, if not all, of the facts of the story from her has gotten my imagination swirling.