We read that teenage Mary, the blessed virgin, conceived God’s Son. 

A woman named Loretta Ross-Gotta wrote thought provoking words about her. Pondering the girl, Mary, who seized in her heart and in her womb the Word of God . . . that one startling promise that came to her through the angel, Gabriel . . . the word which was fulfilled as God’s Spirit hovered over her . . . as He hovered over the dark in creation and with a word, brought forth Light.

Loretta writes, 

“The angel summoned Mary, betrothed to Joseph, from the rather safe place of conventional wisdom to a realm where few of the old rules would make much sense. She entered that unknown called “virgin territory.” She was on her own there. No one else could judge for her the validity of her experience. 

She can measure her reality against Scripture, the teachings of her tradition, her reason and intellect, and the counsel of wise friends. But finally it is up to her. The redemption of the creation is resting on the consent–the choice of this mortal woman to believe fearlessly that what she is experiencing is true. And to claim and live out that truth by conceiving the fruit of salvation.” 

Our salvation, yours and mine, hinges on Mary’s “yes” to God. “Yes, I will be a room for You.” 

Salvation from what, we ask? And you might only hear it at Christmas, or maybe from your facebook friend on Easter—salvation from the darkness of the death surrounding us, and from the soul-cancer called sin! God, through Jesus, washes our filth, and restores us to Himself. 

He always only wanted a Family. 

Like perpetual toddlers, we always only wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. Let’s just name it right here, what we really want: glory. 

We want to be admired and affluent and adored. And we spend ourselves finagling and fowling and fraternizing to get it. But we don’t realize–like Adam and Eve didn’t realize–that without God there is no glory. Without God there is only a dead-end story. Without God, we can’t even smile, much less live forever beautiful and glorious. I read it somewhere, “from the time we are born, we start dying.” How’s that for a Christmas greeting? (Read on!)

Oh, but Christmas is GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY FOR ALL PEOPLE!! FOR TO YOU THIS DAY IS BORN A SAVIOR, CHRIST THE LORD!! He came humble to be a different kind of King—the kind that man has never conceived. A good and perfect King with a heart of compassion. If you want proof of His heart, just look at Him—innocent, falsely accused, beaten and tortured on the cross crying out to His Father, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” 

Do you forgive your false accusers? Do you forgive those who stole from you? Do you forgive those who strike you and prick you and slash you and mock you? No. No. No.  No, we do not do that. We want justice. 

He wants us. 

And that is what this whole story of God is about and that is the point of the story of Christmas. 

Ann Voskamp writes, 

Big and glossy and loud and fast–that’s how this bent-up world turns. 

But God, when He comes–He shows up in this fetal ball. 

He who carved the edges of the cosmos curves Himself into a fetal ball in the dark, tethered Himself to the uterine wall of a virgin, and lets His cells divide, light splitting all white. 

He gave up the heavens that were not even large enough to contain Him and lets Himself be held in a hand. The mystery so large becomes the Baby so small, and infinite God becomes infant. The Giver becomes the Gift, this quiet offering.” 

(Intro to The Greatest Gift)

The Light of the world came down into darkness. This darkness would have been much more tangible to the townspeople in Bethlehem with no electricity in their day, no street lights, headlamps, flashlights, runway lights, traffic lights, night lights. 

We are getting a bit of an inkling of the darkness of their political reality as they were under the rule of cruel Rome–though we ourselves, here, have little understanding of political darkness, we need only look at Hitler’s Germany and other horrific evils as well as the current wars across the ocean from us. Dark, dreary, dank, and downright horrifying. 

Who needs LIGHT? My favorite rendition of Noel, by Lauren Daigle, sings,

Love incarnate, love divine, star and angels gave the sign. Bow to babe on bended knee, the Savior of humanity. Unto us a child is born, He shall reign forevermore. 

Chorus: Noel, Noel, come and see what God has done Noel, Noel, the story of amazing love. The light of the world, given for us. Noel. 

And this is the GIFT of Christmas. Accept Jesus as your Light, your good King, your Savior and live in eternal Light. Like Mary, you are on your own here. You alone can know the validity of your experience. It’s up to you.

And whether you do or you don’t … one day you will stand and face God and He will ask you, “Did you make room for My Son?” Did you make yourself move over so I could have space in you? That I could have you for My own? Did you take my gift to be in My Family Forever?

Oh, I hope you say yes. He wants you. Say yes. As it was with Mary, salvation–yours and others– hinges on your response.