Bethlehem: A God of Surprises

"Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Joshua 3:5

     Good Sunday evening! This is the second part of the first chapter from the book Meeting God in Holy Places by F. LaGard Smith. As I've explained, this book is a result of  LaGard's visits to the Holy Land. You may have to go back to my blog yesterday to pick up the thread of thought for this one, but putting the two together made it much  too long! If you remember, the point of this chapter is that God does everything differently from the way humans would do things because HE IS GOD. He surprises us with the  amazing ways He brings about His will. We--human beings that we are--would have used a more mundane and unimpressive way! So to continue with "A God of Surprises."

     Being a God of surprises, He gives us a different kind of story that turns our thinking on its head. No "Breaking News" alert. No bright cameras and lively interviews. Just an announcement from an angel to lowly shepherds that the Savior of the world was born! But what rejoicing by the heavenly hosts!

     Now think about it: When a  writer in Hollywood comes up with the idea for a script depicting the true story of the birth of God's Son, would it be the same scene? Lowly shepherds. Humble Bethlehem. Obscure virgin girl from Nazareth. Does this sound like a script you or I would write? God's divine drama is meant to grab our attention! It's meant to change our realities! It's meant to turn our values and preoccupations upside down! And surprise us! With God, almost nothing is as it seems.

     There are several people in the Bible who were surprised by joy: Abraham and Sarah, Hannah, and, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Can you imagine the astonishment that Mary and Joseph felt? A virgin who was pregnant! And being the mother of the Savior, did she expect Him to be born in a dark, smelly pit in the earth? His bed a manger? Hearing his first cries, any disappointment she might have felt turned to immeasureable peace and joy! And joy is almost always a surprise--and almost never what we expect!

     What the unlikely circumstances of Jesus's birth tell us is that the God of surprises delights in bringing us unexpected joy. Whether it's in the middle of a crisis, or in the middle of our mundane days, God is likely to surprise us with a special gift, wrapped in a way that surprises us. Think about God's greatest gift, Jesus, who was the Son of God wrapped in ordinary human flesh, a gift which allows you and I to become extraordinary! Far from gold, burning tapers and treasured icons, the birth of Jesus was surprisingly unworldly.

     LaGard says: "But then, that's what is so fun about being one of God's children: just when we least expect it, God surprises us with pearls of joy gift-wrapped in plain brown paper!"

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Blessings...Mimi