There has been Born for You a Savior

The King had issued a decree … it was time to count his subjects and assess their taxes. This was before computers and the internet, before automobiles, television, pollsters, and even a postal service. In order to comply with the decree, every family had to go to their hometown and be counted and pay taxes.

Oh, imagine the incredible flurry of activity this caused. People from all over the known world were making and executing travel plans. The livery stables, motels, cafés, and street vendors were hustling for all they were worth. The streets and highways were jammed with travelers. Government bureaucrats were setting policy and lawyers were debating decisions and feverishly preparing their cases to be heard by the judges of the land.

The air was filled with the sounds of money being counted and change being made, of arguing and boasting, selling and buying, entertaining, begging, threatening, laughing, crying and all the other hubbub. Amidst all of the fray, a young couple picked their way through the crowded streets of one such village, hunting for a place to spend the night. Their search made urgent by the fact the she was about to have a baby. Their search made desperate because the inns were all filled to capacity.

By now, if you are at all familiar with the story, you know that this is a portion of what we often call “The Christmas Story.” We know the village as Bethlehem and the man and woman as Joseph and Mary. Now these names have become literal icons of religious faith, but not then. Then it was just an obscure village and a humble carpenter and his betrothed wife.

The greatest gift ever was about to be born into this world through a peasant virgin girl. Emmanuel, that is “God with us” born in a livery stable and laid to sleep His first night in a feed trough. Yes the announcement was trumpeted and proclaimed by the angels, but not to the King or any other “important people,” just to a bunch of shepherds tending their sheep outside of town. His location was heralded by a great star in the sky, but only noticed by a few astronomers in a foreign country.

You know, it’s not so amazing to me that so many people that night were oblivious to the importance of what was going on in their midst. They were busy with their own important affairs. They had lodging to find, food to prepare, taxes to pay, among all of their other responsibilities. Surely any of them would have done everything in their power to make welcome and comfortable, the very Son of the Living God; had they known that He was to be born right in their midst that night.

Similarly, we have the demands of bills and taxes, business and travel, politics and foreign affairs, school, etc. Thanksgiving comes and we’ve got to get the place ready for guests and prepare that wonderful meal. Christmas comes and we prepare to travel home for the holidays. We’ve got gifts to purchase and cards to pick out and send. There are parties to host or attend, decorations to put up, and those aggravating lights to untangle once again. Our streets are crowded and the air is filled with the sounds of holiday shoppers, busy shopkeepers, honking horns, bells ringing, carol music playing and all of the other hubbub.

Could it be, in spite of the Bible and the Church and a whole special holiday just for celebrating His birth, that all of our busyness eclipses the true Gift we celebrate. I love Santa Claus and Christmas dinner and fellowship with my family as much as anybody; but none of that should ever be allowed to obscure our celebration and witness of the fact that God loved you and me so much that He chose to reconcile us to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ!

I challenge you to do something this holiday season to honor the Christ that Christmas is all about. Make time for a Christmas service at church, read the Christmas story to a child, pick out cards that share more than just “Seasons Greetings,” but a message about Christ, bake a cake and celebrate Jesus’ Birthday…there are innumerable ways that we can celebrate God’s greatest Gift! Above all, allow Him to be born into your life this Christmas.

~Ken