But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
Matthew 2:6 (NIV)
Christmas is my favorite time of year. For me, the Christmas season reminds me that God has done something in Jesus Christ that changed everything. Today’s Scripture may not jump out as an integral part of the Christmas story, but if you allow it to, it will speak a word of hope.
Bethlehem, you don’t stand out as a destination city. You’re not the least, but you are far from the best. But there is something that will make you special. In one of the last places anyone would expect, in Bethlehem, the Savior of the world, the Messiah, was born.
When I look around these days, it’s easy to see the world is broken. We are broken. We need help, and we need hope. Jesus is our hope, and I want to make a difference. But the flesh that I continue to wrestle with tells me, “You can’t make a difference, you aren’t anyone special.”
But there is another voice at work. It is the voice of God that comes out of the pages of scripture. It begins quietly, but it reminds me that no matter what mistakes I’ve made, because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I am a child of God. And I can make a difference.
This Christmas, let me encourage you to slow down, look around, allow God to use you to be a blessing to others. God brought the greatest gift known to humankind out of a very ordinary place. In God’s Hands, the ordinary can become extraordinary.
A prayer for today: God, thank you for the gift of your Son. But also thank you for the very ordinary place that he came from. May it remind us today that you can take the ordinary and make it special. Help us spread the Good News of who you are to those around us. Amen.
