The Christmas Story

About 2,000 years ago, in a culture where having a baby out of wedlock was absolutely unacceptable, a young teenaged girl who loved the Lord with all her heart found herself pregnant. She was unmarried although engaged to a man who she loved very much. When it came time for her to give birth to the baby, she could not find anywhere to give birth in privacy. At her wit's end and in labor, she and her husband found a stable. It was small and dirty. And smelled a lot like the dirty animals that lived in it, but it was warm enough and provided enough privacy. There in that stable on a cold and clear night in Bethlehem, a girl much younger I am, gave birth to a son. Like many girls, Mary probably thought a lot about what it would be like when she got married and had kids. I bet she never imagined the birth of her first child like that. In the midst of a bunch of barn animals and manure. She probably thought her mom would be with her. She probably thought her baby would be born in the same room she had been born in. Most of all, I bet she really didn't count on being the mother of God's son. But she loved God. She was no one special. Just like me and you. She had flaws and bad days and her hair got messed up and she got stressed out. She was normal. And yet God used her to give birth to His son, and He grew up to save the world. If God can use Moses, a murderer and a runaway, to set an entire race free, if he can use Abraham, an old man whose wife was barren in her old age to be the father of nations, if he can use Paul, an enemy of Christ as the first recognized missionary and author of nearly half the bible, He can use YOU. He can use YOU to change someone's world. Make them smile. Give them something to eat. Teach them about a God who loves them and give them back the hope in their life. He wants to use each of us for an AMAZING purpose, and all of it is centered around REDEMPTION that came through a baby boy born to a virgin in a stable. Be encouraged today that God's plan for your life is not mediocre. It is GOOD and it is EXCITING, and even if you are totally and completely nothing out of the ordinary, He can use you to do incredible things that you would not believe. Merry Christmas to all!