Glory to God. Luke 2:1-20
Shepherds back in Bible times were pretty poor. Their job wasn't exactly first-pick, and they were rather removed from and shunned by society. But guess what? They were the first one's God told about Jesus' birth. News that would have been headlining in every paper, breaking news on every station, the greatest, most important broadcast ever made, was first made to the poorest and most looked down on. They heard the good news first.
What is the good news? It's salvation by grace, not by works. We can't save ourselves. The price of sin is death, and that's a high price we'd rather not have to pay, and we don't have to, Jesus paid it all, that's the good news.
Question Time:
-What do you think is so terrifying about the Glory of the Lord? Do you ever think that it would be fearful to stand before God?
God is just so great. He's so big, so powerful, awesome, majestic, awesome, and yes, intimidating. Imagine meeting a celebrity, your favorite famous musician, the president. That would be intimidating, I'm not even exactly sure why because they're just people, but meeting God, the artist of the universe, the all-powerful God of everything, that would be a million times more intimidating! And awe-inspiring, He's just so amazing, I think that His presence would be terrifying because He's so huge, maybe not physically, but spiritually.
I think there's a part of me that would be a little ashamed if (and when) I met Him. Ashamed of my sins, but recently I've been learning and understanding so much more about grace and forgiveness (Doc Flamma's talk at Passage on Sunday was great) and I don't think my first thought upon meeting God would be, "Oh my gosh, I'm such an incredibly sinful, broken, screwed up, mess of a failure of a human, God can't see me like this." Because reality check - God has seen me like this, God does see me every single day, every single moment, He knows my heart better than I do, and He knows my sin more fully than I could ever fathom. And He still loves me, and that's the grace, that's the beauty of it, He loves me despite my failure. So I think my reaction would be awe, fear in the awe-struck way, not the shaking-in-my-boots peeing-in-my-pants way. Just in awe of His awesomeness (hehehe). And I think most of all I'd be beyond happy, utterly consumed with excitement, to be meeting my Heavenly Daddy.
-The angels proclaim that there is "peace on earth for men on whom God's favor rests." What in your life keeps you from believing that God's favor rests on you?
I've always had this thought that Mary must have been so flawless. That she was beautiful, sweet, kind, quiet, loving, servant-hearted, gentle, etc, that there was something so different and perfect about her to make God choose her. I remember watching some movie about Mary and just feeling so overwhelmed with my own sin and brokenness, so consumed with the thought that I could never, ever be good enough, never be someone God would pick for a task like that because of my sin, my failures, my pride. I'm not different or special or anywhere near perfect. But now I think that what was so different about Mary was her willingness to do what God asked of her, at the cost of her lifestyle, comfort, reputation, and possibly even life (since women pregnant out of wedlock were often stoned in those days. Eek). So, I'm willing, and God is able, and we'll see what He does!
-The birth of Jesus is described as "good news" and "great joy." Sometimes we lose that sense of joy and excitement over our Savior. What has stolen that joy from your heart?
I think one of my sins is definitely failing to spend enough time dwelling on how simply wonderful Jesus is. But also, I think that allowing others negative perspectives or skepticisms to cloud my perceptions of Jesus can draw attention on how good and great He is. I am definitely excited about Jesus, the thought of His love for me, how greatly He sacrificed for one so, so undeserving, is just the greatest thing, it makes me smile every time. I'm smiling right now while I type about it, looking like a loon at work. But that's okay, I'll look silly for Jesus any day. But I know I have so much left to learn, so many areas to grow. Excitement and joy over Jesus should take over all of my life, I shouldn't be able to contain that joy, pure happiness about Jesus' love should be bursting out of my every seam, impossible to hide.
-What does this passage communicate to us about Jesus?
Jesus is for everyone. He loves everyone. He came to save the lost, the broken, the hurting. He came to rescue the oppressed, to bring justice, mercy, grace, compassion, and love. What is important to the world is not the same as what is important to Jesus. He doesn't look at clothes, money, social status...He looks at the person, He cares about the heart.
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