Hello dearest friends,
This week I wanted to write a tiny bit about the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and a scripture we often quote but takes on so much more significance the more I learned about it. We know that the Christ child was born in a stable "because there was no room for them in the inns." I love this because as you look at the Greek root word for inns, Luke wasn't talking about the inns like taverns. The root word refers to the living quarters or room in the space where people stay, most likely family. Especially taking into consideration that they were in their home town and visiting, they had relatives there that would let them stay on a normal occasion. However, even for a pregnant woman, there was no room in their relatives' houses? Why? Because Mary was pregnant out of wedlock before being wed and therefore would have been a social outcast among her own family, and THAT is the reason there was room for them in the inns.
Our teacher brought up a good point that Mary had done nothing wrong, and quite to the contrary was actually highly favored in the sight of God so why the backlash? Mary was trying her best to live the way she should and still was cast out by those she loved. How many times are we like this, where when we are trying to live our best we are still not accepted by the rest. The others in our lives, even those we love dearly and are family can cast us out or cause us to feel pain. However, Mary still did what was right, and that is the point I am trying to share: being in favor with God doesn't always mean being in favor with your fellow men. God loves us so much and wants us to do the things we have asked us, since they will be always for our benefit and growth. And when we live right, although we will have the assurance that we are living according to our Heavenly Father's pleas, we won't always be popular. We won't always be the most accepted or welcomed person, because our Savior wasn't either. And can the servant be greater than the Master? We follow Him with trust and meekness, submitting our will to His and choosing first always the things of God without regard to what others may be thinking or saying. We choose to live right regardless of what others may say. Then we will hear those words from the Person who matters most, if not the only the matters, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
This week I wanted to write a tiny bit about the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and a scripture we often quote but takes on so much more significance the more I learned about it. We know that the Christ child was born in a stable "because there was no room for them in the inns." I love this because as you look at the Greek root word for inns, Luke wasn't talking about the inns like taverns. The root word refers to the living quarters or room in the space where people stay, most likely family. Especially taking into consideration that they were in their home town and visiting, they had relatives there that would let them stay on a normal occasion. However, even for a pregnant woman, there was no room in their relatives' houses? Why? Because Mary was pregnant out of wedlock before being wed and therefore would have been a social outcast among her own family, and THAT is the reason there was room for them in the inns.
Our teacher brought up a good point that Mary had done nothing wrong, and quite to the contrary was actually highly favored in the sight of God so why the backlash? Mary was trying her best to live the way she should and still was cast out by those she loved. How many times are we like this, where when we are trying to live our best we are still not accepted by the rest. The others in our lives, even those we love dearly and are family can cast us out or cause us to feel pain. However, Mary still did what was right, and that is the point I am trying to share: being in favor with God doesn't always mean being in favor with your fellow men. God loves us so much and wants us to do the things we have asked us, since they will be always for our benefit and growth. And when we live right, although we will have the assurance that we are living according to our Heavenly Father's pleas, we won't always be popular. We won't always be the most accepted or welcomed person, because our Savior wasn't either. And can the servant be greater than the Master? We follow Him with trust and meekness, submitting our will to His and choosing first always the things of God without regard to what others may be thinking or saying. We choose to live right regardless of what others may say. Then we will hear those words from the Person who matters most, if not the only the matters, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
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