“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” - Luke 1:30-32 (NLT)
For those of us who consider ourselves Christians, the Christmas story is one known very well; it's one many of us can tell by memory. It is usually read at Christmas time and in church and tells us of the wonder and awe that led up to the ultimate climax, the birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem. But as our society modernizes and leaders and scholars try to tweak history and what it means, many modern day theologians scoff at the idea of Mary's conception of the Child as being immaculate. They claim that it is impossible, that it is a myth, even though they acknowledge Christ as the Savior. And while those who believes this are, of course, entitled to their opinion, many of us see the immaculate conception, the concept that Mary was singled out and impregnated with child by the powers of God Himself, to be one of the most important facts in the Story. Think about it, if we believe that Christ was born as Man but was also a personage of God, how could that be if he was the result of a physical union between two mortal sinners? How would it have been possible for Him as a mortal to overcome all temptation of sin while on earth?
The Angel Gabriel didn't tell Mary she was going to be the birth mother of God, that would have been blasphemy. But as the birth mother of the Messiah, the Son of God, it signified his Man-God status which is why he would successfully live the sinless life. Only the Son of God could do that, all mortals fail routinely at that no matter how hard we try.
So for those of us who believe that the Story of Christmas is presented with accuracy as The Word tells it, the power, majesty and joy of what it means is so much more impactful, and besides, why would it be so difficult for God, the Creator of all things to not be able to plan the life of Jesus in any fashion he desired? And the fact is, it would not be too difficult, for God is capable of all things.
So while you're out and about during this joyous season look at all things natural around you as well as what we humans, who are part of nature, accomplish since we are also part of his Creation. On careful inspection, it's not difficult to believe the Christmas Story as told above by Luke, for with God all things are truly possible.
God bless you all.
For those of us who consider ourselves Christians, the Christmas story is one known very well; it's one many of us can tell by memory. It is usually read at Christmas time and in church and tells us of the wonder and awe that led up to the ultimate climax, the birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem. But as our society modernizes and leaders and scholars try to tweak history and what it means, many modern day theologians scoff at the idea of Mary's conception of the Child as being immaculate. They claim that it is impossible, that it is a myth, even though they acknowledge Christ as the Savior. And while those who believes this are, of course, entitled to their opinion, many of us see the immaculate conception, the concept that Mary was singled out and impregnated with child by the powers of God Himself, to be one of the most important facts in the Story. Think about it, if we believe that Christ was born as Man but was also a personage of God, how could that be if he was the result of a physical union between two mortal sinners? How would it have been possible for Him as a mortal to overcome all temptation of sin while on earth?
The Angel Gabriel didn't tell Mary she was going to be the birth mother of God, that would have been blasphemy. But as the birth mother of the Messiah, the Son of God, it signified his Man-God status which is why he would successfully live the sinless life. Only the Son of God could do that, all mortals fail routinely at that no matter how hard we try.
So for those of us who believe that the Story of Christmas is presented with accuracy as The Word tells it, the power, majesty and joy of what it means is so much more impactful, and besides, why would it be so difficult for God, the Creator of all things to not be able to plan the life of Jesus in any fashion he desired? And the fact is, it would not be too difficult, for God is capable of all things.
So while you're out and about during this joyous season look at all things natural around you as well as what we humans, who are part of nature, accomplish since we are also part of his Creation. On careful inspection, it's not difficult to believe the Christmas Story as told above by Luke, for with God all things are truly possible.
God bless you all.
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