A Night of Awe

“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

              How much of the Christmas story do you know? In fact, how much of it do you have memorized? When you see a nativity scene is there anything that strikes you as unusual, or different? When you hear Christmas carols do you feel awestruck and amazed? Or is all of it rather hum-drum, the same old same old that we celebrate every year? I enjoy the season. I like the decorations, the music is nice, and the celebrations are fun. But how often am I in awe when I hear the story? Because it is an awesome story. It’s awesome in the sense that it should strike awe in all of our hearts. And when I say it’s a story I’m not talking about a work of fiction. Rather, the telling of this true event that actually happened in human history should cause us to fall to our knees in wonder of how amazing our God is.

              There are so many parts of the story that could only be God. Prophecies that were told hundreds of years before the events happened, angels appearing in person and in dreams, an old woman giving birth to a son, a political situation established so the events would happen in the right place, Gentiles who were wise enough to leave their homes and countries to find out what this was all about, shepherds who were so overcome they left their jobs to see and worship, a star so bright it could be seen hundreds of miles away and yet so direct it led them to a specific building. As if all of this isn’t enough to make us tremble in awe, there’s the virgin conception. A contradiction in terms, really. When Mary asked how in the world this was going to happen, the angel responded with this short yet powerful verse, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Interestingly, Jesus said these same words later in life to His disciples. I wonder if He first heard them at His mother’s knee as she told Him the story of His birth.

              I encourage all of us to find a moment to read the Christmas story again. At the very least, let’s spend some time thinking about that first Christmas. Ask God to show you the events in the story that inspire awe in you. Ask Him for fresh eyes to see an old, familiar story. Put yourselves in the shoes of those in the story. What must it have been like to have an angel appear to you, or to find the King you were seeking in a backwater town, or to hear an entire choir of angels, or to carry a baby knowing the truth of the child’s conception. Whatever inspires awe in you, remember that greatest is that God came to earth. A baby was born and the world would never be the same. Allow the wonder of that to penetrate your soul and rejoice!