At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Luke 2:1-7
We know the story of Jesus’s birth well. We probably know more about the events surrounding Jesus’s birth than most Biblical teachings. We read and study the details of this amazing event at least once a year. We sing about it, we go see reenactments and displays about it. We set up exhibits of it in our yards. We may have even participated in a Christmas play or two. What a marvelous time of year, the story of how our Savior was born come to life. We can easily visualize the events of Jesus’s birth, can’t we? An Innkeeper, a stable, some animals, a trough or manger, a little stinkiness, Mary, Joseph, a chilly night, and maybe a few characters hanging out, a star in the sky and an angel overhead. That’s the external, what we can see, what our senses pick up. It’s a really nice story, isn’t it? Who doesn’t get the warm fuzzies when a baby is born, especially under such harsh conditions? It feels good, doesn’t it?
But, might I suggest that this season we look beyond the external now and then? Beyond the feel good, beyond the warm fuzzies, beyond the urge to coo back at the baby in the manger and note how cute He really is, and reflect on the essence of this event.
The true Miracle of Christmas is not the actual events of Christmas although there are many miracles therein — conceived by the Holy Spirit, virgin birth, unwed parents, escaping Herod, shepherds, wisemen and more.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17
The Miracle of Christmas is not that a baby was born, but that God loved us so much that He sent the baby. We need to make sure that the actual events don’t overshadow the reason for the events. If the actual events overshadow the reason for the events, it’s just another baby born, just another nice story, and that’s not what Jesus’s birth is.
This Baby was born of God’s great love for us. It is the story of Jesus birth in Bethlehem balanced with the reason He was sent — because God loved us so much! It’s cause and effect. The effect is that a Savior was born. The cause was God’s outrageous, indescribable, uncontainable, unfathomable love for us. A love that is sometimes hard for us to comprehend, right?
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10
The birth of Jesus and the circumstances surrounding his birth are absolutely miraculous, but the true glory of the Miracle of Christmas is the fact that God loves us just that much.
From the squalor of a borrowed stable,
By the Spirit and a virgin’s faith;
To the anguish and the shame of scandal
Came the Saviour of the human race.
But the skies were filled with the praise of heaven,
Shepherds listen as the angels tell
Of the Gift of God come down to man
At the dawning of Immanuel.
Stuart Townsend
What Wondrous Love is this?