Not Just Another Ordinary Night

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. Luke 2:20

In this receding economy, it was just another ordinary night.

The office party dinner table has a lot of spaces to fill.  The gifts given were limited. No raffle prizes drawn, not as usual. The smiles were timid. The greetings were not so warmth. The executive manager’s announcement at the start of the party unveiled the theme, “Welcome to the austerity Christmas party.”

Later that night, my wife and I spoke about our financial standing. We will go through this but not with our belts tightened. My wife practically counts her steps as she goes for Christmas shopping. She searches the best available coupon there is. She spends time more than my office hours digging into the best bargain in town.

We were about to say our “Good nights.” when my phone catches a message which reads a dear brother in Christ will soon be jobless. He has a family to feed, bills to pay and a community to serve.

The shepherds in the fields are having their just another ordinary night. Performing their job; counting the sheep, feeding their flock, protect them from attackers, trying to beat sleepiness. Until the angel showed up and asked them to show up at the manger. They left the ordinary to meet the extra-ordinary. They only knew about the ordinary when they went, they rejoiced in the extra-ordinary when they returned. They returned to the same flock with different hearts. They came back to the same fields as different shepherds. Because an extra-ordinary God came as an ordinary baby. Because an extra-ordinary Shepherd invited ordinary shepherds to his birthday.

Thus I came to the Christ who comes. I left the fields of worries. I came to the Manager of the manger. The fields I left will be the same fields when I return. Yet, I am a different shepherd since I have been in his presence of the Shepherd. Since I have been with the Living Hope, I returned with hope for the living. Since I have been with the Promise Keeper, I returned holding on to his words.

I rejoiced! Having an extra-ordinary God in a not just another ordinary night.

Mary Did You Ask?

She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7b

Did you ask, “Is this God’s Son or just my son?”

An angel told you the fruit inside your womb is of the Most High. He will take on the throne of David. He will rule and his kingdom will never end. Yet, here you are giving birth in a manger. No clean room or house is available, God allowed you to labor in a dark and cold stable. The Son of the Most High in a lowly place. The King in a servant’s abode. His never ending kingdom starts in a place where no princes have reside.

Did you ask, “Is this God’s plan or just another event bound happen?”

You heard from the angel you are favored. No accommodation was given to you when Joseph knocked on doors. No approbation as you traveled from one town to another. The only compliment you got is from four legged creatures. You took their place in that stable. No room at the inn. Labor in a manger. Favored?

No verse indicates you questioned God’s plan. No tradition telling us you pouted about what happened. You believed. You held God’s promise. You were undivided. You had one heart for God and his plan.

May we be like you. Undivided in faith. One heart for God. No questions asked.

Wrong Address

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7

Did he forget his address? Yes, Prince William of Wales. He slept on an icy cold street with other homeless fellows. There was no warm room for him. There was no heater for him. No comfy beddings for the young royal blood. No servants waiting for him to wake up. No royal guards protecting this prince who is second in line for the throne.  His group was almost run over by the street sweeper. He did this only for one night. He then realized how much harder to sleep on the streets during winter time. He came to realize the unsafe and unsecured environment their people lived in. After that night, Prince William was never the same again.

Same thing happened to Jesus. Jesus, who was born in a manger, yet He is God and Prince of Peace. No angel servants to look if He is well taken cared for. No comfy baby beddings. No heat to supply the stable. No armored heavenly guards to protect the Son of God.  Jesus might have been run over by a donkey or another resident of that manger. There was no room for them in the inn and maybe that’s why Mary and Joseph chose this wrong address. For the King of kings to become man. For Jesus to be one of us. For Jesus to live with us. For God to be with us. With His coming, we as God’s people will be safe and secured. And after that night, we will never be the same again.