Luke 2

Merry Christmas... Again!

Luke 2 is the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. The first people to come see him were a couple of dirty shepherds that came straight from their fields after an angel appeared to them. When Mary heard about the angel coming to them, she was amazed. 

This couldn't have been the story Mary was hoping for... No one looks forward to giving birth in a stable, while traveling. She didn't have family around to help; she didn't even have a place to put her baby, which is why they put him in a feed box. She was outside, among farm animals and the only people to come visit her were some smelly strangers. (I'm guessing that the shepherds were smelly, they came straight from the fields.)

It wasn't what she hoped for, it wasn't what she expected...

But it was holy, it was amazing... It was beyond words. Verse 19: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Sometimes life happens in such beautiful, majestic, awe-inspiring ways that there are no words to explain what we are feeling, so we treasure the moment in our heart and try to figure what just happened.

That is the essence of love. A mother's love for her child. A husband's love for his wife...

And God's love for us.