Luke 2:6-7 (click to view Scripture below)
The birth of Jesus occurs on a required trip to register for a census that identifies Joseph and Mary as potential taxpayers. These two are simply obeying the law, though the process to do so is hard. They aren’t even married — they are pledged to be married according to Jewish custom. In this complex set of uncertainties, Jesus is born. There is no special place for him, and he certainly isn’t born at the most opportune time. Mary and Joseph did their best in the middle of a less than optimum situation.
The truth is that God is in the middle of our everyday routines. As we go about those daily tasks that are required of us, like our job and our appointments, God can show up when we least expect a divine intrusion. Reading this account of Jesus’ birth shows both its ordinary and miraculous nature. The birth happens during an inconvenient time, just like a lot of our big movements in life tend to occur when we aren’t quite ready for them. This event is the fulfillment of nine months of both expectation and uncertainty for Mary and Joseph: it is a miracle in the middle of the ordinary. Let’s expect God to show up even in the most inconvenient time and place. When God shows up, His presence will always make a huge difference.
Vice President, ChildHope
Prayer: Lord, my days are filled with ordinary things. My life is filled with drama and anxiety and even expectation. Let me see you in the middle of my schedule. Give me a desire to see your presence when I least expect you to be present.
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Luke 2:6-7 (ESV)
6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
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