Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 20 December 2024
"AN ORDINARY SHAME"
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19)
It amazes me that God chose to send His Son into the world through such a common, embarrassing scene. A young girl turns out to be pregnant out of wedlock; her friends and family are upset, and her future is in danger. Such an ordinary shame, it seemed-and one that most of the world still thinks was the result of sin, more than 2,000 years later. And Jesus knew it would be so, when He chose this birth before the foundation of the world, in the council of the Trinity.
It didn't have to be this way; Jesus could have been born to a virgin princess locked in a tower, whose chastity could never be questioned-or to a modern girl with DNA proof. God chose this instead. Why share our shame from the beginning? Perhaps because Jesus came to rescue us from all sin and shame-and how better than to start from the beginning?
This is the love that Jesus has for us-that He came to be with us in our broken lives, and to take away our shame forever, through His death and resurrection. Because we belong to Him, we need never worry about how God looks at us. Jesus is our peace and forgiveness forever.
WE PRAY: Lord, thank You for coming to me, just as I am. Amen.
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19)
It amazes me that God chose to send His Son into the world through such a common, embarrassing scene. A young girl turns out to be pregnant out of wedlock; her friends and family are upset, and her future is in danger. Such an ordinary shame, it seemed-and one that most of the world still thinks was the result of sin, more than 2,000 years later. And Jesus knew it would be so, when He chose this birth before the foundation of the world, in the council of the Trinity.
It didn't have to be this way; Jesus could have been born to a virgin princess locked in a tower, whose chastity could never be questioned-or to a modern girl with DNA proof. God chose this instead. Why share our shame from the beginning? Perhaps because Jesus came to rescue us from all sin and shame-and how better than to start from the beginning?
This is the love that Jesus has for us-that He came to be with us in our broken lives, and to take away our shame forever, through His death and resurrection. Because we belong to Him, we need never worry about how God looks at us. Jesus is our peace and forgiveness forever.
WE PRAY: Lord, thank You for coming to me, just as I am. Amen.
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.