Mary had it tough! We often portray the Christmas story with Mary riding a donkey toward Bethlehem and giving birth in a stable, as though it were almost clinical and joy-filled. Having attended at least four births, including my own, though I don’t remember much about that one, that view of Jesus’ birth is a fantasy. Being heavily pregnant, with your first child, being excited and not a little terrified seems to be part of the process. To then be expected to ride a donkey for over 100 miles (90 as the crow flies), over rough terrain would, I guess have been pretty excruciating (correct me if I’m wrong ladies!), and all because some distant governor decided at this time to have a census. Couldn’t God have chosen a better time?
Mary, however was not simply giving birth to her child, she was also giving birth to God’s child. So it was not just Mary’s time, but His also. “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Mary was giving birth to one son; God was giving His only Son in order to make many more sons. For Mary it may have been an inconvenient time; but God’s timing was perfect!
As we approach Christmas, a time of celebration, what are we celebrating? Santa,tinsel, parties, holidays, trees and so much more? Mary and that nativity scene? Or can we see beyond all of that, and find that God was at work, seeking to draw people to Himself by paying the price of our sin? Perhaps we need our eyes opening for the first time to see beyond the secular view of Christmas, the Santa view of Christmas, and discover what Mary knew all along; that her Son was sent to seek and to save that which was lost. So if you are lost today, He has come looking for you. Will you be found this Christmastime?