Luke 2:1-7

I've been in church since age seven and an old-fashioned church at that; so to say the least this story is familiar to me. But reading the story yet again something struck me that had never occurred to me before. One of the most amazing things about God, to me anyway, is His knack, and I might say His absolute pleasure, in using the things we "know" to show us how much we do not know. But I digress. Luke 2:5 "in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child." Who was engaged to him... Now it's obvious enough they were not technically married yet, given the customs of those days, but they were just married enough that Mary had to go with him to Bethlehem. Why would that be important? All the years of prophecy were fulfilled because of that tenuous bond. A Nazarene, born in Bethlehem of a virgin mother. It is absolutely mind-blowing to me how God uses all of the ordinary, everyday, extremely un-religious events to bring about everything that he has foretold through the prophets. A census, an engagement, the delays along the road that prevented them from reaching Bethlehem before all the inns were full; the thousands of tiny little insignificant events that lead to the one blindingly ordinary yet absolutely unique thing, a child being born, the child being born, and laid in some ox's cereal bowl.

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Luke 2:1-7

In this verse, it describes the unexpected birth of Jesus. Most Christians have heard this story over and over and perhaps have become callused to it. If you stop and think, you'll see that this story is everything but expected. In this time I'm sure that not too many mothers gave birth in stables. In today's world, an event such as this would be considered inhumane. Doesn't it seem odd that our God would allow such a birth for His only son? I believe that God was trying to teach us to look for Him in the unexpected times.

I'd like to share a true story of a friend I know who encountered one of these unexpected times. She had lived in the same house her entire life and all of the sudden, at age 17 (Her senior year of high school) her father had a job opportunity all the way across the US. It was a big shock to her to leave the only world she knew and enter a totally different one. Well, to make a long story short, she found a church that changed her life and she became closer to God than she ever thought possible. She found God in her unexpected move.

I challenge you to look for these unexpected times in your life and see if you can find God in them. You may be surprised how often He's there.

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And while they were there (in Bethlehem), the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger (feeding trough for animals), because there was no lodging available for them.
Luke 2:6-7

Sometimes we live our lives so well planned out, and things rock along just as expected. Often we just plod along through the days, and not much around us changes. But we also go through times when nothing seems to go quite right; where everything that matters to us seems out-of-place and disorganized. Order and tranquility seem to be just out of our grasp.
Joseph and Mary must have felt this way as they came into Jerusalem. She was very pregnant, and they were not even married yet. They were in a strange and busy and crowded place, some distance away from their hometown. And in the midst of this, they couldn't even find a place to lay their weary heads and rest. And then look at what happens: the baby Jesus decides to burst upon the scene and present himself in the midst of all this turmoil and strife. "Why now, why here, why me?" I am sure Mary must have asked these questions.
Why was the expected Messiah born in such an unexpected place in such a messy situation? Why didn't His coming bring order and structure to the world around Him. That's what the people expected, was it not?
Jesus often comes into our world when we're not expecting him, when the order of life seems to get jumbled and things seem out of place, when confusion and stress are at their peaks. I think He comes into my life in these times because 1) that's when I need Him most, 2) that's when I begin looking for some "real" help, and 3) He can bring me some real comfort in the midst of my most confused and weary circumstances.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

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Luke 2:1-7

Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem for the census. They had to go to the town where Joseph was from to be counted. I am sure that the Jews would have expected their Savior to be born in Jerusalem, the holy city. But God caught them off guard. I am sure that the Jews would have expected their Savior to be born in a regal setting. Again, God caught them off guard. Jesus was born in a manger among dirty animals. In a town that wasn't the center of religious activity. This unexpected birth place sets the tone for the life of Jesus. He is brought into the world in a lowly dirty place. Jesus spent his life ministering to lowly, "dirty" people. There was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn. Too often, there is no room for Jesus in our life; no room in our "inn". So, from an unexpected place of birth, Jesus was born and sent into the world to do unexpected things. Too often, I am guilty expecting things and taking things for granted. God set the tone over 2000 years ago to seek Him in unexpected places. God even caught me off guard while I was doing this devo. I found that the Hebrew translation for Bethlehem means "house of bread". The Bread of Life was born in the house of bread. How surprising is that?

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