Dear friends, let us change the status quo this year!
Dear friends, welcome to the café. Please make yourselves comfortable while I pour us our cups of coffee. Christmas is here and the preparations are at fever pitch right now. As usual, Christmas is a time of joy, and also a time of reflections; I am always mindful of the fact that the year is drawing to an end and another one about to begin. 365 days! How did we spend it? what kind of vessels were we to God? Vessels of honour or dishonour? Will God boast about us like He did about Job? Have we been obedient to His call on our lives this year?
Since it is Christmas, I think about the birth of Jesus and what a wonderful gift our Father gave to us in His son; but this gift would not have been possible without the obedience of the young girl chosen to bear His son. Mary was a virgin who lived in a culture and time that made it fatal for an unmarried woman to get pregnant. under such circumstances, she would be stoned to death to cleanse the community of the guilt of fornication. Yet when the Angel came to her, she did not flinch, she did not think of her own life, she selflessly agreed to be used of God, knowing what she would have to go through.
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38
Even knowing the condemnation that awaited her, she did not despair or try to get out of her commitment, she was filled with joy and praise for what God was about to do for His people.
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.” Luke 1:46-55
This year, while opening up presents, before we sit down to our Christmas dinners, please take a minute to thank God for Mary and her gift. Remember, she was almost a child herself when the angel appeared to her with the message that she would carry God’s own son; yet her thought was not of self preservation or gain; it was not what is in it for me? She succumbed to the authority of God and declared herself willing to be used of Him in whatever way he pleased.
What about Joseph? What would have happened if he had disregarded the angel’s message and cast Mary away? It takes a strong man to do what he did in the times they lived. He did not think of family honour or what people would say; he only knew what God had said to him and he stuck by Mary, protecting her from condemnation and death, and in the process ensuring that our saviour would be born. What a man!
Dear friends, if we take anything out of this blog today, let it be this, Christmas should be a time of selflessness, of love and of sacrifice. We should display these qualities at all times but they should be even more evident at Christmas time. As we celebrate this year, let us remember that our celebration is only made possible by someone else’s sacrifice. Mary shared her first born child with the world and gave him up for the same world even though they did not appreciate him and what he came to do. God loved us so much that even while we were yet sinners, he gave his only begotten son to die for us.
Dear friends, let us change the status quo this year, let us go out into the world and spread his love any way we can. It could be a smile, a kind word, or the provision of basic necessities; Let us not judge today but just love God’s people as we join with Jesus and declare
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; Isaiah 61:1
You may not agree with my views and opinions and that is okay but I will like to hear your opinions, please write in and share your thoughts with us. See you next week at the café and God bless you, enjoy your coffee.
Blessings,
Kathryn