As I write we are now well into the period of Advent, so for many of us it is the time of preparation. But preparation for who or what? Maybe it’s the preparation of family get togethers or equally likely making lists of things that must be done around the house, or in the workplace before the commencement of the holidays; it could also consist of shopping for the children or the adults. All in all, so many of us are accustomed to the annual challenge of preparing for Christmas, but whose Christmas will we be celebrating?
However, if we were to take time to reflect upon the Christmas season scriptures, we will discover that the Christmas story holds for us all, a revealed mystery and an approved history. It is these two elements that so often provide us with a banquet of spiritual food that fulfils the promises of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
For many of us the Christmas Carols have now already begun supported by the very necessary mince pies and mulled wine. I speak of course, from within my own household. These scriptures foretelling the coming of the Virgin birth began many
centuries before the actual event took place. But there is one scripture that clearly emphasises the foretelling of the Virgin birth, some seven hundred years prior to the event; that being, Isaiah 7:14. This is the most striking prophetic scripture that relates to Jesus’ miraculous birth.
“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (God with us). Isaiah 7:14 | NASB
Therefore, anyone who has read or listened to Isaiah 7:14 has been the purveyor of that sign! Many therefore, may have forgotten that the sign of the forthcoming event now dwells within them. When reading the Gospel of Luke, we first experience the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist who was God’s foreteller of the coming messiah; this is followed by the foretelling of the coming Virgin birth. While both announcements were delivered by the Angel Gabriel, the Angel told Zachariah that his petition had been heard in heaven.
However, when the Angel Gabriel visited Mary, he came with a somewhat different announcement; “hail favoured one! The Lord is with you.” In order to calm Mary down from her shock and anxiety, Gabriel said, “do not be afraid Mary; for you have found favour with God.” Skipping forward, Gabriel’s final words to Mary was to advise her about her cousin Elizabeth who was recognised in her own community as being a barren woman but had now conceived and was in her sixth month. Then came the statement that we too must always hold on to, that being; “for nothing will be impossible with God.” There is a significant difference between being with God, and for God. With God comes a divine partnership between Him and us. Partnership with God is essential for all believers if we are to maintain our relationship and trust in the Lord.
That word ‘favour’ continues to connect Mary’s yesterday to our today. As the year slowly drops its anchor like a ship entering the harbour and prepares to wait for the next phase of the journey to begin, I wonder if we too can celebrate our own ‘divine favour’ that God provided for us during the current year? Equally important, do we ever recall the moment that we came to Christ and if we do, will we recognise the divine elements of favour that God provided for us in that moment in time?
For many of us we may be on the cusp of embarking on numerous faith-based projects. The question is, will we be partnering with God by recognising His Kingship, leadership and authority or will we be expecting Him to partner with us, and come under our leadership? What the story of Mary has provided to the reader through the ages, is an example of what a Grace and Holy Spirit filled young woman looks like in-spite of the personal cost when fulfilling the favour of God. Surely, that is the divine meaning between; “for nothing will be impossible when we are with God”, and when we allow God to be God!
May this Christmas draw to our attention the life of favours that God has provided to us, in spite of the journeys that we have made through the desert and the valleys of life.
David Conlon.
