Leg 1 Day 9 - Life Along the Way

Leg 1 Day 9

AN EXTRAORDINARY “ORDINARY” MIRACLE

Jesus With Us

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Scripture:

LUKE 2:1-7 (MSG)

About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. SEE ALSO: MATTHEW 1:18–25

Life Lessons from Jesus:

There is nothing unique about being born, but there is absolutely something miraculous about it. No, Jesus’s birth wasn’t the only miracle birth. Pregnancy and childbirth are miracles all on their own, making our existence on this earth worth celebrating. Although the birth of Christ is unique, unlike any other, and the yearly commemoration of His birth has become a large celebration spanning countries and cultures, God sent Jesus to be born in a plain, ordinary way. His birth was an extraordinary “ordinary” miracle. The Messiah, God’s only Son, was born to simple people—a carpenter and his fiancée—in a manner no one expected for the future Savior of the world. Indeed, Mary and Joseph probably had a rough time of it: they were alone, without a place to stay, and their unmarried status would have turned the birth into a scandal. And yet, Jesus’s birth changed the lives of everyone who would ever pass through this world. God specifically prepared Jesus’s story and life to resemble the entire measure of the human experience, beginning with His human birth. God has His own purposes and plans for us as well, no matter how ordinary our own beginnings may seem.

The WAY:

Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:

Do you know your own birth story? If so, relate what happened.

How do you and your family celebrate Christmas?

What are some of your memories of the Christmas holiday season, good or bad?

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for sending Jesus to a young couple who trusted in Your plan. It’s incredible how You use ordinary situations and ordinary people for extraordinary outcomes. I’m so grateful You sent Your Son here to live among us. In Jesus’s name, amen.

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