Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk in the footsteps of a historical person? Or to witness the time in which they lived? To see, taste and experience a familiar story…
I’m such a sucker for a good non-fiction book. My favorite subject in school was history and still to this day I can tell you just about anything you would want to know about the history of my home state, South Carolina. I can even recite the 46 counties, in ABC order, to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy (I might add).
So to quench my historical infatuation, I recently read a biography about Abraham Lincoln. The author did a phenomenal job of making me feel like I was right in the middle of the story. I often pondered the questions: What courage, strength, and moral authority it would have taken to fill Ole Abe’s shoes. What would it have been like to witness his surroundings in that era of history? To see the fashion of that day (to rock a green curtain dress like the illustrious Scarlett O’Hara), to feel the tension and momentum rising from both sides of the battlefield, and to taste the meals on his steam ship where he spent his final days leading to the demise of the Civil War.
Leading up to the advent season, I finished his biography and picked up another narrative, another non-fiction. This particular book has surpassed the decades of time as a best seller and gives extraordinary insight to why we celebrate Christmas…. The Bible.
Turning to the Gospel of Luke, I thought of Mary, a young Jewish girl, an ordinary teenager betrothed to a man named Joseph. As we learned on day one, an angel visited Mary and announced to her that she would give birth to the long awaited Messiah. Her story could trumped any episode of the new hit show Scandal. She was in a messy situation as she was merely engaged, a virgin, and expecting. Talk about a scandal that would have exploded all over the social media train!
Fast Forward… to Luke chapter two.
After the angel departs, Mary, full of faith marries Joseph. They made the trip to Bethlehem, with quite a number of hiccups on the way. At nine months pregnant Mary made the trek on a donkey. Upon arriving in Bethlehem they were welcomed by “no vacancy” signs at every Inn; leading them to the sheep stable, on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
Max Lucado describes this scene perfectly:
WOW! Let that blow your mind for a second. When Mary held Jesus in her arms and looked down at his newborn face, she was looking into the eyes of the Creator of Life. She would later wipe his nose, bandage his knee, and clean His clothes!
What would it have been like to walk in her shoes?
- To feel this miracle of life, The Life Giver, growing inside of her?
- To see Jesus take his first steps, and then see him walk to Calvary?
- To witness the wise men worship him, to then see the scorners and mockers denounce His deity?
- To one-day feel the agony of knowing she could not save her son?
- To have kissed her little baby, to then kiss his bloody feet on a cross?
Jesus, Emmanuel (God with us) was not only with her… but hers. Her first born, her pride and joy, her Savior.
Grab your journal and open your Bible to John 1:1-18 and let’s ponder these questions together.
Questions to Ponder
- How is Jesus described in these verses?
- What is your response to this revelation of Jesus?
- God stepped into our story to invite us into His story. How can you thank Jesus today for inviting you into His story?
