The beautiful intrusion

  Christmas comes every year, but the true message of Love, Peace, Charity and Kindness gets lost and hidden in the glamour of seasonal materialisms. It’s no wonder we have very little time to think what meaning and changes it have brought about in our life.

I love it when people take time to buy gifts in which they have put some thought behind because such gifts remind me of the greatest gift of God. We have immense expectations of Christmas, with pictures of children playing, church choirs singing, smiling faces and people happily getting along with the season of joy. 

But of times, it is not that of the outlook; of what it is suppose to be, as the song says, “the wonderful time of the year”. 

Maybe not for all but for many, it may be a very difficult phase because something might have inflicted the Joy: maybe sickness, or death, or loneliness, or spiritual struggles.

We look to Christmas season to be a perfect time of peace, harmony and joy. But the first Christmas never was that way, it began with an intrusion. Consider the timing of Joseph and Mary’s toughest interruption. It was supposed to be an excitingly amazing time like Christmas as they were engaged to be married. But it was during this time that an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would miraculously, as a virgin, conceive and give birth to the Son of God (Mat 1:18).  What joyful news! Yet, what an interruption! Mary’s ultimate doubts would have been all these, had she accepted it in the worldly perspectives: How would she explain herself to Joseph? Would he believe her and take on that responsibility? This was not in their plans.

And yet, she accepted it gracefully as to why God had chosen her and relied on.  

I can imagine Joseph, having learned of Mary’s situation, tossing and turning in bed, trying to decide what to do. Finally, he decides. He will divorce her privately. But while he was sleeping, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and tells him what to do. (Mat 1:19).

The key to handling difficulties and hindrance in life is to get God’s take on it. Thankfully, God rescued Joseph from his error.

Sometimes things may fail to work out according to our plans. It might have shattered you and may be it will be too hard for you to accept. This was true with Mary and Joseph. There was a great hindrance and all their plans were distracted. 

But can you imagine what could be more a privilege, or a responsibility, than to be human parents of the Son of God? The great hindrance which they accepted it positively redirected their beautiful future. The direction their future took was of course not what they had planned, but it was so much better and bigger than that of their plans. God may not help you cut your grass. He wants to help you in cutting His grass. He will give you the lawnmower and the fertilizers and teach you to take care of His grass, not yours.

Let us re-consider the fact that God plans for you are to prosper you and not harm you (Jer 29:11).  Whatever difficulties you may be enduring right now, why not look at it in a different angle, and ask, “God, are you using this to do something great in my life?”

Let the joy of the season fills your heart. May the Prince of Peace be in your heart and at your home this Christmas.