November 24, 2014
Christmas is a time to remember that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reigns. King Jesus heralded the Kingdom of God and everything that comes with it. Over the next few weeks, we are excited to share a series of five devotionals written by alumni of Sioux Falls Seminary. In this series, His Kingdom among Us, we’ll be examining texts in John’s Gospel that explore who Jesus is and how he impacts our lives and ministries.
by Rev. Danelle Olson (M.Div., 2002)
Pastor, United Community Baptist Church, Anamoose, ND
As Christians, we often express a desire to witness God perform miracles but quickly forget that life itself is a miracle. In fact, I have two miracles living in my house. One is named Alaina, and the other is Macy. I’ll never forget bringing Alaina home from the hospital. We took her in the house and let her sleep in her car seat while my wife and I went into our kitchen to prepare supper. I remember wondering when we were supposed to return her to the hospital. I kept reminding myself that she was ours to keep. Baby Alaina and baby Macy were blessings from God—along with the rest of us.
The idea that we were all in the mind of God and then were born is incomprehensible. It is even more incomprehensible to realize that Jesus, the Savior of the world, became incarnate. Not only that, but he looked like us in the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus was as much of a baby as Alaina and Macy were. Just think, God, who created everything by the power of his Word (John 1:1-4), created the baby Jesus so that he could be with us. He knows what it’s like to laugh like us. He knows what it’s like to feel intense mental and emotional pain like us. He knows what it feels like to be lonely like us. If we have experienced it in this life, he experienced it as well.
While it was the power of God that made salvation possible for us, the fact that Jesus has felt and experienced everything that we experience in this life means that we can minister to others in an authentic human manner that revolves around relationships and not just abstract theological truths. While we minister to others during this Advent season, we can truly say Jesus understands whatever we’re going through. The best news is that the baby in the manger grew up to become our Savior. Even though my two blessings are no longer babies and will one day be on their own, Jesus is ours forever!
Prayer: God and Savior, we offer our joy-filled thanksgiving for the gift of yourself to us through your Son, the Christ-child. Help us to reflect Christ’s love-light to the world around us. Amen.