It is always good to reflect on the story of the first Christmas at this time of year. However many times we visit the scriptures over however many years and decades, we can always see something different. Because there is always more to tell about a God who breaks into our world to do the unimaginable.
Today I have been pondering all the things God DIDN'T do!! He didn't make it safe. He didn't make it comfortable. He didn't really seem to make much sense. But then that's God for you. Not at all straightforward and certainly not at all like us.
If you were planning to bring your only Son into the world wouldn't you want to make things as calm and secure and safe and comfortable as possible? Wouldn't you ensure that there was some medical help available - at the very least a bed!! Why did God set it all up so that Mary and Joseph had to be from
Nazareth but Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem? Couldn't He have organised the Old Testament prophecies to be a bit more..... convenient!? The more you read and think about it the more it seems that God set out to make things as awkward as possible for everyone concerned. I mean why did the wise men have to traipse so far following the star? Weren't there any wise men closer by? Why was there no room at the inn? Surely it would not be beyond God's ability to ensure there was a bedroom on arrival - He is so good with parking spaces after all !
The thing is that God is not like us. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. Is 55:8 We cannot even start to comprehend the way He sees things, thinks about things, plans things. It is like a three year old English child trying to understand a nuclear physicist explaining quantum mechanics in Arabic. We are a zillion miles away from being able to understand why and how He does what He does.
The upshot of which is that we tend not to understand. And we don't like the feeling of not understanding. It makes us feel out of control. So we try to put our own rationale on what God does. Or we complain that He is not doing things the way we would have them done - or He is not doing anything at all.
One of the amazing things about Mary and Joseph is that they accept God's ways. They clearly don't understand . Obedience involves them in great personal discomfort , puts them in physical danger and makes them a scandal in their community. But they don't try to re-negotiate what God has said to them, not do they complain about how hard it is..... they accept and obey. Without
question. They cant possibly understand the bigger picture - all they know is that they are having an 'illegitimate' baby away from the comforts of home in an occupied country. But that God has spoken and told them it is all in His plan. I'm sure that the nine month pregnant Mary on her three day journey on a donkey wasn't feeling all that great about God's plan. I'm sure the frantic Joseph trying to find a bed for the night as his wife was in labour wasn't exactly rejoicing at being part of the plan. God's plan was hard. It sometimes is.
But they went with it anyway.
On Saturday I was in a coffee shop with a friend and we ended up having a long conversation with a stranger there who told us some of her amazing story about how God was leading her and her family. He was revealing His plan for her and in the process was stirring up and overturning and dismantling and moving the furniture in her life. She was scared and a bit overwhelmed but also incredibly excited. Even the fact that we happened to wander into her coffee shop that morning appeared to be a confirmation to her that the plan was falling into place! We were immensely privileged to be able to hear the story and cheer her on and pray with her. It was another reminder to me that if we want to be moving forward with God then we have to be prepared to be uncomfortable. To not understand. To just trust Him and step out in obedience. And if we do...... well then we too can see new birth. New projects, new disciples, new vision, new life.
Lord I don't understand Your ways, I don't fully know the plans You have for me or how I fit into Your plans for this world, but I do know that You are good. Your plans might not be easy or comfortable but they are good. They might not always feel good in the short term - but help me not to be dictated to by my feelings. Thank you that Mary and Joseph chose to obey when they didn't really understand. Help me to be ready for what You say and willing to do it , trusting that You see the bigger picture and that I have a part to play - however small, in bringing that picture into being.
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