The Unexpected Through the Unlikely

Most of us very familiar with the Christmas Story of Jesus’ incarnation marvel at what God did, and give no thought to a possible alternative story line.  We have the advantage of Biblical history that specifically fulfills prophesy.  But those who originally received these prophesies could only guess what the fulfillment of Messiah would look like.  Some literal interpretations had people looking for a person of royal human lineage and/or a government official, national leader, or military commander.  Notwithstanding, a baby born to a virgin would be such controversial news that certainly all would be aware of this great happening, even without the advantage of today’s instant media reporting.

The fact that the Father and Jesus planned this before time in their foreknowledge that man would doom his relationship with God through his errant use of free choice is almost beyond our comprehension.  If God knew what would happen, why did He allow it instead of pre-empting His own heartache? Why did He wait about 4,000 years for Adam’s sin-course to become rampant, including 400 years from Isaiah’s prophesy to the incarnation of His Son into the world?  “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6, 8) God’s timing is always perfect.

No one understood that the rumors of Mary, a young village girl, disgracefully found to be pregnant by Joseph prior to marriage were not only false, but marked God’s perfect plan.  How was it that this faithful woman whom the angel, Gabriel, described as most favored and blessed among women was forced to make a dangerous journey so late in pregnancy?  Wouldn’t God have at least arranged for a house and private room with a bed for the birth of His Son?  I have to imagine that even Mary’s hopes for the circumstances under which she would give birth to her first child were crushed.  No one seemed to care; the birth occurred without the aid of a midwife, in obscurity.

Yet, all of this happened according to what we have come to know of God’s Nature.  “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ⁹ ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9) The hardships we face in life were foreshadowed by the hardship Mary endured, and Jesus was born into it, qualifying Him to lead us through.  The pomp and circumstance of a royal birth announcement was replaced by signs in the stars understood only by a few foreign astrologers, and locally, by a multi-thousand-member angelic choir that only appeared to the lowliest of workers, a few shepherds.

But God’s choice of unlikely people to participate is His unimaginable work in unexpected ways should give us all great hope.  He created each of us in His unfathomable foreknowledge to fulfill His perfect plan.  In Him, there are no accidents, no human refuse, no one beyond His redemption, and no one without purpose.  We have only to receive Jesus and come.

This Christmas season is the perfect time to join in Jude’s proclamation of verses 24-25,“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”  Merry Christmas!  “Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” (Jude 1:2)