The Power of Ordinary

Published on 23 December 2022 at 15:02

Christmas Confusion

A couple of weeks ago I found myself shopping online for our annual family Christmas card. Every year, I try to find one that not only flows well with our family portrait but also has a biblical theme. As I scrolled through the "religion," section of the shop's website, hopeful that I might find the exact card I had envisioned, I found my hope waning with each page I scrolled through. Greetings such as, "Merry Blessings," seemed to be about all I could find. Pardon me, but what on earth does "Merry Blessings" even mean? I admire the quirkiness of the saying, but this has zero biblical meaning whatsoever. Luckily, I was able to find a sweet card that met my needs and allowed me to customize it with scripture, but the experience opened my eyes to the fact that many people don't realize the true depth of our Christmas celebration. When we don't have the proper background on the birth of our Messiah, we may unknowingly mix Christian values with secular holiday traditions. Thus, we end up with "Merry Blessings." Side note: I mean no offense towards anyone whose family Christmas cards say "Merry Blessings" on them! However, the point of this post is to help us see the deeper meaning that this season holds.

The Nativity

We all know the story of Jesus' birth. We've seen the nativity scenes displayed in front of churches all over town. We've watched the children in our church come together to reenact the story of our Savior's birth. Some dress up as angels, others as wisemen. And let's not forget the adorable miniature versions of Mary and Joseph! We've decorated our houses with signs that say, "Peace, Love, Joy," and "Hope," acknowledging that the coming of our Lord and Savior brought peace, love, joy, and hope into the world. But this is just the surface, my friends. For us to walk confidently in Christ all year long, not just during the holiday season, we need to dig deeper. Once we break through that surface, we will break through in our faith. Just below the surface is a revelation that will help you walk even more closely with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, the birth of Jesus is proclaimed from pulpits everywhere by pastors teaching out of the books of Matthew or Luke. But in this post, I'm going to be taking a bit of an unconventional approach. In this post, we're going to dig past the usual, "peace, joy, love, and hope" and discover that there's more to the story. This story, folks, is a story of power. The nativity that we so commonly associate with Christmas (and rightfully so for obvious reasons), doesn't simply represent the scene of Jesus' birth, but it is an expression of the humility this man would soon walk in, the grace that God would bring to all His people, the victory we would win over our enemy through Jesus Christ, and the life eternal that we would gain through this newborn babe.

In today's world, where you come from and what you come from seem to determine your worth in society's eyes. If you're born into money or have the right last name, your value seems to go up. However, our God loves to flip the script that society writes. Jesus (who I might add is and forever will be the King of kings) was likely born in a barn. Not a highly renowned hospital with a full staff of well-educated doctors tending to him and his mother, Mary. The family did not come bearing lavishing gifts, but shepherds left their fields and marveled over his birth. His earthly father, Joseph, was an ordinary man working as a carpenter. Yet, through this unconventional birth, God's promise to redeem His people came to pass. A King was born!

The Prophecy

There are two accounts I have chosen to discuss in this post about the prophecy of the coming messiah-both of which are spoken through the prophet Isaiah. The first one is in Isaiah 7:14. It says:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

There it is the nativity of our Lord wrapped up in one short verse. The virgin will conceive, she will give birth, and she will call him "Immanuel." Easy enough! Let's not stop there, though. I said we were going to dig deeper, so let's get our shovels out and keep moving. Now, if you have a Bible like mine, you'll find a little letter or notation next to the term, "Immanuel." That is an indicator that you need to look at the bottom of the page where there are several other notes listed. Find the note that matches the note beside "Immanuel," and it will probably say something like, "Immanuel means God with us." Oh goodness! That is some valuable information right there! But if you're anything like I was before I started studying the Bible, understanding that Jesus is God in the form of man-thus meaning that God was in fact on earth with us-is not an easy task. However, with some studying and praying, this concept will become much easier to understand. In that lowly stable, God entered into our world in the body of an infant, born unto two ordinary parents in a very extraordinary situation. But don't take my word for all of this. Take the word of the apostle John. In the book of John (1:9), he writes:

"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world."

This is where I imagine God stepping down from His throne and walking with us here on this side of Heaven. The harder place to live, where the ups and downs and twists and turns and disappointments that life throws at us come and go with each passing day. And though this is a powerful phenomenon for all of us who believe, and truly it is, not everyone back then (and even now) saw it that way. Let's look at John's next statement:

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him." (John 1:10)

Doesn't that sound crazy? Though God created this world, and though the coming of the Messiah was foretold by the prophets, His world did not recognize Him. Israel demanded a king. They demanded salvation. They wanted a warrior. A man of honor. A man of strength and dignity. And what they got... was a baby. A baby born to two ordinary people. His guests of honor were shepherds, maybe a couple of head of cattle, a horse or two, and possibly a goat. They didn't recognize Him because they were looking for power, and what they got appeared to be the opposite. Little did they know, or recognize, the power that lay in the manger that night. The power that rested on that sleeping babe's sweet shoulders.

The second account of God's prophecy through Isaiah I want to discuss can be found in Isaiah 9:6-7. It says:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

As I mentioned before, society uses who we are, and where/what (money) we come from to determine our worth. I imagine that this wasn't too far from how society functioned two thousand years ago either. Isaiah prophesied of a "Mighty God" and "Prince of Peace" descending from the royal bloodline of King David-who was a powerful warrior and man of God. So, how did we go from this invigorating prophecy of such power to this small child born into an ordinary family? It's important to note here that in ancient Israel, social status seemed to be weighed on a much stricter scale than it is now. Nowadays, we hear inspiring stories of people coming up in poverty only to later become very successful singers, actors, or sports stars. Back then, society seemed to have operated on an "if-you're-not-first-you're-last" type of food chain. Jesus' earthly family falling towards the bottom half of it. Having an occupation such as a carpenter, which was Joseph's trade, was looked down upon and his mother Mary was just a teen who lived a very ordinary life. That is, until the night the angel Gabriel visited her.

The Power

If there is one thing I've learned from my time studying the Bible, it is this: Never underestimate the hand of God. Isaiah 59:1 says it best, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." God heard the cry of His afflicted people. He knew that to fulfill the intended purpose of His creation-that is to live in close fellowship with His people-what stood between Him and us needed to be abolished. That is sin. There was a need for salvation. His solution: Christ.

Our salvation did not come from a muscled-up man with a sword. Our salvation was not born in a palace. On the contrary, our salvation came from an ordinary family. Our Savior was found swaddled and lying in a manger. Now to anyone who isn't familiar with the term "manger," it is a trough that animals, such as horses or cattle, would eat out of. This is an indicator that our salvation did not come from a palace but was born in a barn. Oh, but the power! And we know that this baby held the power to save God's people because of two specific scriptures. The first one is from the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 that previously discussed,

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Here's your sign! A sweet babe lying in a manger conceived through the virgin Mary and named Jesus. This leads me to scripture number two which can be found in John 1:14:

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Jesus is the Word. He is also the manifestation of God in human form. To bring salvation to His people, God stepped down from His heavenly throne and dwelt among us. Through Jesus Christ, He fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. Immanuel translates to "God with us," and that is exactly what took place when Mary laid her newborn baby in a manager the night of our Savior's birth. This baby, born to an ordinary family, held the power of salvation in his sweet little hands. The salvation that would finally bring God and His people back together again. The salvation that would fulfill the prophecies of the prophets that came before him. And salvation that would offer eternal life to God's people and the promise that He would one day come again to raise the dead.

Merry CHRISTmas

This Christmas, when you see a nativity scene sitting out in front of a church or someone's yard, I want you to take a moment to think about that baby lying in the manger. The baby who was born to a family just as ordinary as yours or mine. And I want you to think about the power that he held in his sweet hands. The love, the joy, the hope, and the peace that radiated from His inmost being. There's more to this season than expensive gifts and hectic holiday dinners. This is a season of love, life, and ultimately... salvation.

The Power of Ordinary

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