The Christmas Journey

" Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.' Then Mary said to the angel,' How can this be, since I do not know a man?' And the Angel said to her,' The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you: therefore, also, that Holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.'" "For with God nothing will be impossible."- Luke 2:30-35,37
     If you have ever spent anytime in church, you have probably heard this story a few times. But have you ever dove into what was being said in this passage? This is a story about a young girl, estimated to be around 14 years of age, that is called on by God to carry his son. This girl is not married, and has never known a man. It makes you wonder what was going through her head. What will people think of her once this baby begins to grow in her womb? We can imagine that it will not be pleasant thoughts going through their heads. Yet, even though she knows this is going to happen, Mary still commits herself to the Father and allows him to use her in a mighty way. We have been placed on a crazy journey, and God has asked some crazy things of us. We could choose to let the thoughts of the world get in the way, or we can allow God to work through us, and make it all clear for us in the end. What would happen if every time God called someone to do something way out of the ordinary, we don't listen because we are afraid of how the world will judge us. We must realize that God has not called us to be like the world, or even to get approval from the world. We are placed on this earth to give God glory, in spite of the retribution that comes from the outside.
     In the account of the birth of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, we meet Joseph, a young carpenter who is about to take Mary as his wife. Before they marry, Joseph realizes that Mary is pregnant. Trying to protect Mary, he decides that he should hide her away from people so that they won't be made a mockery. But as he is pondering these things, an angel comes to him in a dream and tells him to not put her away, and he explains that this is a special child sent from God.
     I see Joseph as a "fixer". Someone who sees a problem and thinks with his head of how to turn the situation around for the better. When the angel came to him, he was saying, do not try to change what I have set in motion. Trust that I know what I am doing, and everything will be revealed if you have faith that I will do what I said.
     So Joseph takes Mary as his wife and they begin their faith journey with God. Because they were both faithful in doing what the Lord commanded, Jesus came into the world and fulfilled numerous prophecies spoken about him given thousands of years prior. After Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, they did not realize that the inns would be full, and they would have to stay in a barn, but they did know that God would protect them wherever they rested their heads that night. God is not asking us to do the impossible, he is merely asking if we trust him enough to do what he says he will do, especially when it seems impossible. God used a teenage girl to bring his Son into the world, just imagine what impossible things he can do with you.

Adam Semple- A young man on a mission from God.

*photo credit by: www.dreamstime.com