As Christians approach the day in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, it is a time that is filled with wonder, majesty and awe. Yet for some, this history changing event is wrapped in skepticism and doubt resulting from questions that have never been answered in a way that redirects worldly thinking. I mean, come on… a virgin birth? The Son of God? Savior of the world? I understand the weight of those questions and the need for answers. Those very questions kept me separated from God’s truth for many years. Today however, I understand the prophetic Scripture that speaks perfectly to this challenge. The “stone that makes people stumble” was first referenced by Isaiah eight centuries before the birth of Jesus. It was repeated again in 1 Peter 2:8 when he referred to Jesus as “the stone that makes people stumble; the rock that makes them fall.”
God knew people would have trouble grasping His ways and His majestic qualities such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, Alpha and Omega, the Godhead of the Trinity, immutable, and of course the Biblical truth that proclaims, “Nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37) That is why He spoke through the prophet Isaiah telling us, “My ways are not your ways, My thoughts are not your thoughts. As high as the heavens are above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, My ways are not like your ways, and My thoughts are not like your thoughts.” And again in Psalm 46:10 he tells us, “Just be still and know that I am God.” I believe that God was/is clearly telling us that we will never understand, with our finite minds, the wonders and ways of the Creator of the Universe. That is why, throughout the Bible, He uses the most unlikely people, situations and methods to carry out His plans. He delights in showing His power and strength through the least likely characters. That, however, is the same reason so many people stumble or fall when grappling with His thoughts and ways. God is so far outside our paradigm of rational thinking that we will never be able to intellectually wrap Him up and put Him in a box. But let us not forget… Christianity is based on faith, and faith comes from standing on a Scriptural foundation based on the truth of God’s word.
Let’s look at three examples of God’s “nothing’s impossible” ways, starting with Samuel, chapter 17, to see how a boy named David saved a nation. When Jesse sent his son David, a young man of about fourteen years, to the front lines to deliver food to his three older sons who were fighting with the Israelite army, little did he know he was sending the nation’s next hero. When David arrived at his destination, he was shocked that the army was shackled with fright at the sight of Goliath, who was shouting insults and demanding a volunteer come out to fight him. David asked, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God.” (vs. 26). David volunteered to meet the challenge, picked up five stones and walked toward the giant armed only with a slingshot. He knew the same God that protected him from the jaws of lions and bears as he tended his father’s sheep in the hills would also protect him against this opponent. With one stone he took down Goliath, brought victory to Israel, and brought honor and glory to God when he told the giant, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty – God of the armies of Israel…” A miracle? Yes! But how? Because “Nothing is impossible with God!”
Now let’s look at what was probably the most outlandish battle plan in the history of the world. When Moses died, Joshua was appointed leader of the Israelites. Their plan was to conquer the land of Canaan under the Lord’s guidance. God spoke to Joshua, who felt terribly unqualified, with this message: “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9).
As the Israelites prepared to move into Canaan, God commanded Joshua to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant into the center of the Jordan River, which was at flood stage. As soon as they stepped into the river, the water stopped flowing. It piled up in heaps upstream and downstream, so the people could cross on dry ground. God performed the same miracle for Joshua that he had done for Moses when he parted the Red Sea. The people were now in the Promised Land, but the first obstacle they encountered was the walled city of Jericho.
God had a strange plan for the battle of Jericho. He told Joshua to have the armed men march around the city once each day for six days. The priests were to carry the ark; appointed trumpeters were to blast forth on their rams’ horns, but the soldiers were to keep silent. On the seventh day, the assembly was to march around the walls of Jericho seven times, and during the last round, at Joshua’s command, the men were to give a great shout and Jericho’s walls would come tumbling down. When that happened, the army was to march into the city and conquer it. Remember…God had already promised Canaan to the Israelites. All they had to do was take it. Joshua certainly knew that, so even with this less than orthodox battle plan, he relied on two Biblical truths: “God would never leave him or forsake him”, and “nothing is impossible with God”.
But undoubtedly the most mysterious display of God’s thoughts and ways can be found in the whole scenario of Jesus’ birth, as presented in Luke, chapter 1. The angel Gabriel visits Mary, a virgin in her middle teens, and tells her, “You have found favor with God. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son who will be called Son of the Most High. He will reign over Israel, and His Kingdom will never end.” Mary asks the angel, “But how can that be? I have never known a man.” Gabriel replied, “…nothing is impossible with God”. Mary replies, “I am the Lord’s servant. I will do whatever he asks.”
As we continue reading the story, new questions will undoubtedly arise, such as Mary’s encounter with the angel, Gabriel; Joseph’s acceptance of conception by the Holy Spirit; the trip to Bethlehem and the birth in the stable; then there was the host of Angels proclaiming to the shepherds in the hills, “The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born tonight in Bethlehem.” (Luke 2:11) Absolutely, none of this makes sense to a logical, rational thought process. I mean…
- Who were Mary and Joseph? What were their qualifications?
- Why Bethlehem, of all places, for the birth? Wasn’t Jerusalem just up the road with more accommodations?
- And a stable (Yikes!) for the birth of The Savior; the Messiah; the Lord? Nothing about that seems appropriate for the long awaited Messiah!
- And the announcement of his birth to shepherds. Didn’t they occupy the bottom rung on the social ladder? Why them? Who would believe them??
The only way to grasp the truth of this event is to come to know God and His ways. Only then, through revelation from Him, can the pronouncement from Isaiah become authentic, “My ways are not your ways, My thoughts are not your thoughts…”
This story has always been God’s plan, “even before the world was created” (Ephesians 1:4). Because God is a loving God who wants an eternal relationship with us, Romans 5:6 tells us, “While we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.” Then Romans 3:23 also tells us, “All have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Because of our “human nature”, we could never make ourselves holy and acceptable to God through our own effort. And 1Peter 1:16 tells us, “we have to be Holy (sin free) because God is Holy. That is why Jesus HAD to come as Savior of the world. He fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament, and at the same time, He gave us a new way of being made acceptable to God. Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” God’s gift of love to us is His Gift of Grace, which allows us to be in Christ.
No doubt about it, Jesus – the Savior of the World, the Messiah, the Lord -arrived in a totally unorthodox manner. Everything about this story challenges our intellect. But when we come to know God as a loving God who wants an eternal relationship with us based on our faith in Him and not by our own works – AND, as a God who was willing to sacrifice his Son as payment for our sins so we could become part of that relationship, we need to stop and ask ourselves: “would I want to worship a lesser God?” I might not understand His ways and His thoughts, but why would I put my faith in a lesser god that even I can figure out?? Remember…God knew Jesus would be a stumbling block to the world. We are supposed to be challenged. Yet this same Jesus becomes a Savior to all who will allow their minds and hearts to be transformed by the truth and love of God. I gotta tell ya…that’s one Christmas gift that fits all!
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Merry Christmas, 2020, to all of my Dear Friends, and Happy New Year!
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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