The Birth of Jesus and the Death of Your Pride
GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE
Christ was born to be the Savior of sinners. A category that includes us all. Yet, not all have received him. Why is this? What sort of sinner is able to receive the joy he came to bring? Mary's story & song key us in: the humble. Christmas joy comes to us as a gift that's unearned, undeserved, and unconcerned with our pride. Mary takes God at his word and rejoices in her Savior. Elizabeth & John leap and shout for joy. And all those "who fear" the Lord shall receive his mercy and join in Mary's song (Lk 1:50). Rightly understood, Christmas is the most wonderful & humbling event of all time. God coming to us when we could not come to him to do for us what we could not do ourselves. To those who seek to have their hunger satisfied by the Lord, he fills with goods things, but to those who believe they've come into a better joy than what God provides, he sends away empty (Lk 1:53). We're all sinners - the message of Christmas makes that clear. But, the wonder and warning of the gospel is this: that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Jas 4:6) - as the meaning of Mary's song makes clear. The birth of Jesus was not a silent night. It was an utter upturning & reversing of men's values & joys - destabilizing the proud and comfortable of the world and satisfying humble sinners who were hungry for the joy that God alone could provide.