This is how just about every nativity scene looks. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the stable, sometimes surrounded by a myriad of animals, shepherds, and wise men (and occasionally, a little drummer boy.) And always with the star shining brightly for all to see. This picture of the nativity is pretty true to the original story, except for the the wise men, who actually came about two years later. But this is the simplest way to show the part the wise men play in the story. This, I thought, was the only mistake, until this Christmas season. This year, God brought to mind the star. It is always shown as bigger and brighter than all the other stars in the sky. But what if it wasn't? The Bible story never specifically says what the star looked like. It just says that the wise men followed it. What if the star looked like an average star?
What if it only meant something to those who could see it for more than it appeared to be?
Isn't that how the entire Christmas story was? On the surface, there was nothing extraordinary about a young couple being forced to stay in a barn and the woman having a baby. Mary and Joseph themselves were nothing out of the ordinary. They were from a poor town; they weren't royalty. To those simply passing by, the first Christmas probably seemed like just another day. Except to the shepherds and wise men. They saw what was happening as more than it appeared to be. The shepherds heard a message from the Lord and believed something extraordinary about a small baby born in a stable. The wise men traveled many miles to worship a child.
If the star was brighter than any other, I think it would've attracted more attention. If there was a huge star in the sky pointing at a barn, I think I would go check it out. But the only people to follow it were the wise men. Why?
They saw the divine behind the ordinary.
What, on the surface, seemed to be just another star among billions, the wise men saw as a herald of the coming King. And this is not a new concept for God. He loves to hide extraordinary behind everyday, magnificent behind mundane, royalty behind regular. 1 Corinthians 1:28 says this, "And God also deliberately chose what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are." (AMP) God deliberately chooses the insignificant, for it is those very ones whom the world deems unimportant that God gains the most glory through!
The things you do that seem so small and inconsequential to you, are more than they seem. The dad who goes to work everyday at a job he hates so he can support his family. The stay-at-home mom giving herself to raising her kids. The pastor who invests so much in his/her church and community. The high school student striving to stay pure, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The person taking in children who don't have a stable home. The person in a desert season reaching for joy. The person who has been hurt reaching out again in love. The one who forgives without waiting for an apology. And so many others. These are the divine hiding in the daily.
Know that these things you give yourself to, that no one acknowledges, do not escape God. God is just like the wise men. He sees the divine in the ordinary- because He put it there! Everyday you are on this earth, God has a purpose for you. He is like Jason Bourne, He never does anything by accident. (Sorry, if you haven't seen the Bourne trilogy, you probably won't get that movie reference. But you get the point).
It is not an accident you are here on this earth. If you are reading this, then you are alive and God has a purpose for you! Even if you have made some choices you are not proud of (and trust me, we have all done that), God still has a purpose for your life! We always talk about God's plan like it is some thing way off in the future and all our choices are leading up to this one, huge event that God has planned for us. The truth is, God's plan is here and now. I often find myself thinking, when I graduate, then I will be able to start doing what God wants me to do, or when I get a college degree and start making money, then I'll be able to give the way God wants me to, or when I get married, then God's plan for me will really kick in. The thing is, God's plan doesn't start the day you graduate, get a job, pay off your bills, get married, have kids, retire, or any other specific time we tack it on to. God's plan for you starts today, this hour, this minute.
The reason we so often project God's plan on the big events in life is because we miss the divine in the ordinary. We can't see the magnificent in the mundane. This Christmas season, let's take a lesson from the wise men. Let's look at our lives differently.
"Every day is another chance to live the life God has dreamed for you." -Stephen Furtick.
God has dreams for all of us, and they start today, in this moment. So the next time you feel like you are not making an impact, think about the star, and the divine hiding in your ordinary.
What if it only meant something to those who could see it for more than it appeared to be?
Isn't that how the entire Christmas story was? On the surface, there was nothing extraordinary about a young couple being forced to stay in a barn and the woman having a baby. Mary and Joseph themselves were nothing out of the ordinary. They were from a poor town; they weren't royalty. To those simply passing by, the first Christmas probably seemed like just another day. Except to the shepherds and wise men. They saw what was happening as more than it appeared to be. The shepherds heard a message from the Lord and believed something extraordinary about a small baby born in a stable. The wise men traveled many miles to worship a child.
If the star was brighter than any other, I think it would've attracted more attention. If there was a huge star in the sky pointing at a barn, I think I would go check it out. But the only people to follow it were the wise men. Why?
They saw the divine behind the ordinary.
What, on the surface, seemed to be just another star among billions, the wise men saw as a herald of the coming King. And this is not a new concept for God. He loves to hide extraordinary behind everyday, magnificent behind mundane, royalty behind regular. 1 Corinthians 1:28 says this, "And God also deliberately chose what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are." (AMP) God deliberately chooses the insignificant, for it is those very ones whom the world deems unimportant that God gains the most glory through!
The things you do that seem so small and inconsequential to you, are more than they seem. The dad who goes to work everyday at a job he hates so he can support his family. The stay-at-home mom giving herself to raising her kids. The pastor who invests so much in his/her church and community. The high school student striving to stay pure, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The person taking in children who don't have a stable home. The person in a desert season reaching for joy. The person who has been hurt reaching out again in love. The one who forgives without waiting for an apology. And so many others. These are the divine hiding in the daily.
Know that these things you give yourself to, that no one acknowledges, do not escape God. God is just like the wise men. He sees the divine in the ordinary- because He put it there! Everyday you are on this earth, God has a purpose for you. He is like Jason Bourne, He never does anything by accident. (Sorry, if you haven't seen the Bourne trilogy, you probably won't get that movie reference. But you get the point).
It is not an accident you are here on this earth. If you are reading this, then you are alive and God has a purpose for you! Even if you have made some choices you are not proud of (and trust me, we have all done that), God still has a purpose for your life! We always talk about God's plan like it is some thing way off in the future and all our choices are leading up to this one, huge event that God has planned for us. The truth is, God's plan is here and now. I often find myself thinking, when I graduate, then I will be able to start doing what God wants me to do, or when I get a college degree and start making money, then I'll be able to give the way God wants me to, or when I get married, then God's plan for me will really kick in. The thing is, God's plan doesn't start the day you graduate, get a job, pay off your bills, get married, have kids, retire, or any other specific time we tack it on to. God's plan for you starts today, this hour, this minute.
The reason we so often project God's plan on the big events in life is because we miss the divine in the ordinary. We can't see the magnificent in the mundane. This Christmas season, let's take a lesson from the wise men. Let's look at our lives differently.
"Every day is another chance to live the life God has dreamed for you." -Stephen Furtick.
God has dreams for all of us, and they start today, in this moment. So the next time you feel like you are not making an impact, think about the star, and the divine hiding in your ordinary.
