Lessons From The Christmas Story

Lessons From The
Christmas StoryGod chose to bring the greatest good news of all history to these common people first. And the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12 NIV The Christmas story, as recorded in chapter 2 of Luke’s gospel, is so much a part of our culture and tradition that we sometimes forget it is Holy Scripture. When we hear the familiar words read so often during this holiday season, our minds tend to picture things like nativity scenes, Christmas pageants and programs. But chapter 2 of Luke’s gospel is not just a story for the Christmas season; it is the Bible. And as the Word of God, it has something to say to us every day of the year. Let’s look at some of the year-round lessons from this account of our Lord’s birth. The Lesson Of The Setting
First, there is the lesson of the setting. The birth of Jesus took place at a time when the Roman empire was in control of all the so-called civilized world. As supreme ruler, Emperor Caesar Augustus (Lk. 2:1) ruled the world with an iron hand. His decree that a census should be taken forced everyone to comply. What power! What authority! To the human eye it certainly looked like Caesar was calling all the shots. But who was really in control of the whole situation? Was it really Caesar? No way! The Bible leaves no doubt that God was sovereignly moving world events at that time to set the stage for the birth of the Savior of mankind. Mighty Caesar was but a pawn in the hand of almighty God (Prov. 21:1). One of the Old Testament prophets had predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Mic. 5:2). But Bethlehem was just a little “one-horse town” and Mary was living in the north, in the Galilean town of Nazareth (Lk. 2:4). For Mary to travel over rough roads for approximately 100 miles in her condition hardly seemed likely, or even possible. But God moved Caesar and the world to make it happen and the Messiah was born right on time, according to schedule - and in Bethlehem! The lesson of the setting certainly has an application for today. God is still in control of the world situation. World rulers and political leaders may appear to be calling all the shots, but God is still on his throne and in ultimate control. His plan of preparing the world stage for the return of Jesus Christ is being worked out right on schedule. And His plans for our lives as individuals are also being worked out according to His purpose for each one of us. We may not completely understand God’s dealings with us any more than Mary and Joseph understood why God allowed such “hardships” to come to them. Think of the stigma connected with this birth in reference to gossiping friends and relatives. Think of the “no-room-for-them-in-the-inn” experience (Lk. 2:7) at the time of Mary’s labor. Think of the trauma of the escape by night to Egypt because of Herod’s plan to massacre the babies of Bethlehem (Mt. 2:13-16). Just as God at that time was doing something big and wonderful in the lives of Mary and Joseph through all of these trying circumstances, so He is in control of our life situations today. And in spite of hardships, we can know that everything is being worked out for our ultimate blessing (Rom. 8:28-29). It is important to observe that there is no record of Joseph or Mary ever complaining or resisting God’s ways. They humbly submitted to God’s control of all their circumstances. Can the same thing be said about us? The Lesson From The Shepherds
There are also a few lessons we can learn from the shepherds in Luke 2. Remember that shepherds were not exactly at the top of society’s ladder in those days. In fact, they were on one of the lower rungs of the social ladder. Today we might call them “simple folk.” But God chose to bring the greatest good news of all history to these common people first. The good news of the Savior for all mankind was not announced first to Caesar Augustus, nor to the “rich and famous” people in Rome. And the religious leaders of the Jews were not the first to hear the good news either, even though the voice of God through prophets and angels had not spoken to the nation for 400 years. It was to simple shepherds watching their sheep at night that God chose to bring the greatest announcement of all time. God’s estimate of the “important people” of this world is a whole lot different than man’s. God is still bringing His good news to common people. Salvation is not offered only to the intellectuals or the elite of society. The good news is for everyone, because God cares for everyone: “The Lord is ... not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Can the same thing be said of us? Most of us must confess that too often we neglect or are even reluctant to share Christ with the social misfits and other “simple folk” that don’t seem to have it all together. Let us never forget that God shared His greatest good news first with shepherds. More Lessons From The Shepherds
Some other lessons from the shepherds are found in their reaction to the good news. The shepherds did not question the message from God nor did they delay in acting upon that message. They went “straight to Bethlehem - with haste” (Lk. 2:15-16). No wonder their faith was rewarded. Those who doubt the word of God today need to learn this lesson from the shepherds. Is it possible that this is why our faith seems so joyless lately? (Jn. 15:11). Notice that the shepherds didn’t just believe what God said. They acted on what God said. So often today Christians stop short of this action phase of faith. They wouldn’t question the Bible for a minute, but they fail to act on what it says. Take, for example, our Lord’s words to us in Matthew 6:25-34. There we are told not to be anxious about anything because God will take care of all the really necessary things in our lives if we trust Him and honor Him. Do we believe these verses? Of course! Then why are we so uptight about everything all the time? Because we don’t really act on the Word of God. The shepherds have a lot to teach us about faith in action. Luke 2:20 shows us another reaction of the shepherds to the good news. After hearing it, they returned to their homes, to their families and to their sheep. Although they had seen the Savior and experienced the great joy that the angels had predicted (2:10), they went back to their responsibilities as husbands, fathers and shepherds. The difference was that they returned to their responsibilities glorifying and praising God (2:20). What witnesses they must have been in their homes, communities and work places! Some Christians have the idea that when they become believers or have “mountaintop experiences” with the Lord, everything is supposed to dramatically and drastically change. They want to drop out of school or resign from secular employment, and leave mundane duties and responsibilities behind in order to be free to serve and praise the Lord! Such thinking is unbiblical, for sure! Commitment to Christ should result in our being better students and employees and more responsible spouses, parents and community members. We no longer procrastinate in our assignments or duties! We pay back our loans - soon! We show up where and when we’re supposed to! It is true that the Lord may direct us to new areas of responsibility as our priorities change and as we mature in Him. But we don’t praise and glorify God by turning our backs on our present responsibilities. Like the shepherds, we praise and glorify Him by returning to those same responsibilities as people who have been changed forever. The Lesson Of The Sign
Finally, there is the lesson of the sign. The sign - that God had visited His people and that the Savior had come - was just a little baby, wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. How unique! Why not thunder and lightning? Why not a great earthquake? Why not skywriting? Why not at least a halo around the baby’s head? Because the sign itself, that of a newborn child, portrayed the good news - God had become man! The eternal Son of God, the One who had created the universe, stripped Himself of His outward manifestations of glory and majesty and took on manhood by being born as a human baby. From heaven’s highest glory to the lowliest of conditions on earth - wrapped as a peasant baby in strips of cloth and placed in a feeding trough for animals - the sign not only authenticated God’s message, but it proved the depth and extent of God’s love for mankind. And we know that the stoop our Lord took did not stop at the manger. In order to atone for our sins, He stooped all the way down to death in utter disgrace on a Roman cross - the supreme proof of God’s love for you and me (Phil. 2:5-8). The Sign For Today
What is the sign that God gives today to authenticate His message of good news and prove His continual love for people? It is neither a fantastic display in the heavens nor a great miracle on earth. The sign today is similar to what it was then - the life of the Lord Jesus presented in common ordinary surroundings. Christ lives within every Christian, wherever we are. Our bodies are like the strips of cloth. The more humble and lowly we become, the more the life and love of the Savior can be seen in us (2 Cor. 4:7-11). This is the way God has chosen to let His Son be seen by the world today. Is our life a sign which authenticates and proves God’s love? By David R. Reid