Get the Picture

“While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7

God is a God of timing, and in Ecclesiastes 3:8 He has made everything appropriate in its time. So the question is, “How does that relate to Christmas?”

Look again at Luke 2:6-7 - We see the humanity of Christ.

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law...” Galatians 4:4. We see divinity of Christ. A divine Father, a human mother - the Incarnation. He is 100% God and 100% man.

Look back at verse 6 and see the timing. The normal process has taken place. It’s time to give birth. “...when the fullness of time came...” Galatians 4:4. Here we see the eternal plan.

Now let’s look at Mary. If we look at Mary and what she is going through, we would probably say God’s timing for her was very inconvenient. When we look at the short term events in our lives, many times we basically feel like saying, “God this is not the right time for this in my life!!” Or, “Lord, do you know what you are doing?” Or, “Are you aware of how inconvenient this it?” Or, “Oh, Lord, not now!”

Did you ever stop and think of what Mary must have thought at that moment? Talk about inconvenient - Her marriage had not been consummated. The birth of her child is in occupied territory. The census has totally disrupted the plans. She is in a strange town, no family, no support system. There is inadequate housing.

In the short term of things – if you were to ask Mary what she thinks, I'm sure she must have said, “It doesn't seem to be the right time for all this to happen.” I don't know about you, but I can relate to this. This applies to my life. There are times, more than I want to count, when I have caught myself questioning God and his timing. Why? Because all we have is just one little piece of the puzzle. When all you have is a piece or a portion, it doesn't always make sense.

The only one who has the whole picture is God. But rather than have faith and trust Him, we usually worry, jump to conclusions, blow up, make a bad decision, or something else. I want you to hold that thought until tomorrow.