A Savior For The Ordinary

In my attempts to find examples of God using ordinary people for a great purpose, no story can match the main story of scripture: the life of Christ. While He was divine, He encountered temptation and pain, symptoms of the human experience. In that way, He was just like us.

But the story of Christmas is especially interesting in the context of this blog. It sheds an incredible light on God's saving grace, that was given for all mankind. Even ordinary people could find hope in the coming of the Messiah; a baby from Bethlehem.

Think about it. The Jews were expecting a "king", but not just a spiritual king. They were expecting a ruler that would save their people and bring justice to the oppressed. Christ would do just that, but not in a political way. His death and resurrection would tear down the barrier between man and God, paving a way for the salvation of all who believe.

But Jesus was hardly born into royalty. He was forced to sleep in a manger, or feeding trough. While he was visited by some fairly important figures (Matthew 2), he was also visited by some lowly shepherds from the fields. In a lot of ways, the whole situation was God showing the world that He intended the Messiah for everyone, not just the righteous.

I bet the shepherds were incredibly excited to see Jesus in a manger wrapped in cloth. That is hardly royalty! The joy and hope it brought must have been incredible.

This Christmas, praise the God who provided a way to Him. He gave His only son to be born as a human, that He might later die to bring us salvation. Christmas is a great day to be reminded of God's gift and how He saved us, despite our ordinary lives with all of our sin and selfishness.

The Christmas Story From Luke:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 
"Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. ~Luke 2:1-20