Even though some retail stores have been displaying Christmas products since the middle of summer, now that we see December and its dates on our calendars, we can officially declare that Christmas is here. I want you to stop for a moment and recall the details of The Christmas Story. Now think about this. The little Baby Jesus whose birth we celebrate at Christmas time grew up one day to say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.…” Since part of His essence is that He is the Truth, is it not reasonable to conclude that within the biblical narratives of His birth we would find, not just true statements and thoughts about Jesus, but true statements and thoughts about Jesus which combine to express core components of the Truth that Jesus is? Yes, that conclusion is reasonable.
Upon reading and carefully studying those Christmas passages, several of those core components emerge and beg for recognition right away: (1) That the unconditional love of God is for all mankind and is available for up and outs (wise men, King Herod), down and outs (shepherds), and everyone in between (Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna). (2) That our biggest problem as humans is separation from God caused by our sin, and it is that separation which makes God’s provision of a Savior for us so necessary. (3) That the only one who is capable of being mankind’s Savior is Jesus, the Son of God, who is fully God and fully man. (4) That unwavering faith is absolutely necessary to live life fully in this world and in the world to come, and it is also absolutely necessary for us to be used by God to move His eternal plans forward.
Whereas each of these core components deserves the fullest consideration, my intention in this document is to focus on truth number 4 – that faith is essential for living life to the fullest now and in the future such that God can use us to further His Kingdom plans. No two people have proved that to be true more than Mary and Joseph. What God asked them to be and do in relationship to the birth of the One who would grow up to save the world required incredible faith. Faith in exactly what? Faith in the character, power, and purposes of God. To do what they did in providing a womb and a home for Jesus, they had to believe that God loved them, that in creating and implementing His plan of salvation God was all-wise, all-knowing, and willing and fully able to provide for them and to protect them. They also had to trust that God’s intentions, His motives, and His methods – to save people from their sins through the One born to Mary – were purely good. Did they believe these things about God? Their actions of immediate obedience are all the evidence we need to prove they did.
No other female will ever be asked to conceive and give birth to the Savior of the world like Mary was. No other male will ever be asked to be His earthly father like Joseph was. Yet, for each of us to successfully live life in this world and in the world to come, and to position ourselves to be used of God in moving His eternal plans forward, the kind of faith found in Mary and Joseph is absolutely essential for our lives as well. Why is that? It is because without stable faith it is impossible to live a stable life. That life truth is found in the Bible in Isaiah 7:9 where God through the prophet Isaiah said to a fearful King Ahaz of Judah, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” Was God saying to Ahaz that in order to live a stable life, it doesn’t matter what a person believes, just as long as he is stable in believing something? Nothing could be further from the Truth. For a careful reading of Isaiah 7 shows that God’s expectation regarding Ahaz’s unwavering faith was for him to unwaveringly trust God’s willingness and ability to make sure that the enemies of Judah would not be successful in their attempt to overthrow Ahaz as king of Judah. The only thing which matters more that what we believe, is who we believe in. For who we believe in will ultimately determine what we believe.
When it comes to you and me, to live life successfully as I have described we must have the faith of Mary and Joseph, not the “unfaith” of Ahaz. At all times we, too, must believe in the character, power, and purposes of God. We must be able to correctly answer yes to this important life question, “If I put my trust in God, can He and will He provide for me, and can and will He save and protect me – from my sin, from myself, from my circumstances?” And how will people know we have correctly answered the question? It is when we trust God enough to obey Him.
In closing, let’s allow the words of Hebrews 11:1,6 to instruct us. “Now faith is the things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…and without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (ESV)
Merry Christmas!
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