The Journey

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Luke 2:1-7

 

Luke 2:6-7

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

(ESV)

 

Mary and Joseph have received their calling from God to be the earthly parents of Jesus, the Son of God, and God Himself, but there is a paradox to the story, Jesus must be born in Bethlehem and not in Nazareth where Mary and Joseph live (Micha 5:2). While Mary and Joseph could have discerned from Scripture the need to go to Bethlehem so Mary could give birth there, God knew he needed to arrange circumstances in their lives, forcing them to go to Bethlehem. God used a decree from Caesar that all citizens go to the town of their birth for registration, which for Joseph meant going to Bethlehem.

 

Since I am not a lady, I cannot relate to the discomfort Mary must have felt as a decree from Caesar forced her to travel by donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. While this is a journey one can make by car in a couple of hours today. In the time of Mary and Joseph, the journey took several days. While the passage in Luke 2:1-7 does not go into details about how Mary felt during the journey, we can read between the lines of Luke 2:5 saying Mary was with child and discern the journey was one of pain and discomfort for Mary.

 

As circumstances would dictate, upon arriving in Bethlehem, the time for Mary came so Jesus could be born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of scripture. However, the challenges of the journey do not end there for due to the many people traveling to Bethlehem for the registration, there are no vacancies in the inns (Luke 2:6-7). Again, Scripture does not provide details, but we can imagine Mary was full of doubts and fears about where she would deliver her baby. Our modern nativity scene illustrates the paradox of the Son of God, God Himself being born in a barn and lying in a manger or feeding trough.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan, or calling, for each of our lives and that this calling is for our good and not our destruction. However, the context of this passage of Scripture in Jeremiah is saying it to people living in exile. Jesus told his disciples that they would have trouble in their lives but also reminded them that he had overcome the world (John 16:33). For Mary and Joseph, The trouble of fulfilling the calling was a painful and uncomfortable journey from Nazareth and Bethlehem so they would be in the right location for Jesus’ birth to fulfill Scripture (Micha 5:2).                                                                                   

 

Discovery of one’s calling from God does not mean life will be easy and in fact, may come with pain and discomfort. This is where we must have faith and trust in God that his plan for us is not destructive but for our benefit despite some pain and discomfort (Jeremiah 29:11). Like the paradox of the nativity scene, this is a paradox in our lives requiring an eternal focus on God and not the pain and discomfort we may experience during our life’s journey. With a heavenly focus, the pain and discomfort we experience becomes temporary when compared to eternity with Christ.

 

However, for one to have a future of eternity with Christ. they must accept his gift of salvation. If you have never done so, I encourage you to do so by praying with me,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

Congratulations to those that just prayed and begun their life’s journey serving Christ. While this journey will come with challenges, it has a reward of eternal life and freedom of condemnation from God (John 3:16-17). I challenge everyone reading this post to maintain a heavenly focus on the reward awaiting all who believe in Jesus as their savior and not let the challenges of life’s journey distract them, May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.