Luke 2: 6-7
It's always a welcome sight to see a young couple posting pictures of their newborn baby in the hospital, saying that their perfect child has arrived. Of course, we know that a lot of imperfection will soon follow: sleepless nights, crankiness from colic, the baby's first illness, and so forth.
Mary and Joseph must have had the same wish for perfection, knowing that God's son was on the way. They might have imagined a perfect setting, a perfect birth, a perfect visit from loved ones. But as the Christmas story goes in Luke 2: 6-7, the actual scenario was far from perfect.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
What a stressful situation! Joseph must have felt like a failure, not even being able to provide a room for the holy family. For Mary, the straw, the stable's odor, and the process of delivering with only Joseph by her side were less than ideal conditions. Then some grimy shepherds arrived, babbling about angels!
But there was perfection - God's perfect embodiment, lying in a feed trough. In the midst of the mess, perfection was present.
So, too, in our lives, God's perfection can be present in the midst of the mess. While we wait through Advent for the arrival of perfection, fighting through the messiness that makes us wonder if we desire Christmas or just a day of peace and quiet, God's perfection is present even now. Let us wait no longer for perfection, but instead, seek it out and experience it in this moment.
In the midst of the mess, stop down to ponder the New Creation that Jesus proclaimed. Listen to my latest podcast episode of The Top 11 Themes of Jesus - #4, The New Creation. I'm joined by Dr. Len Wilson to discuss what the New Creation truly means. You can find the podcast by searching for "Cecil Taylor Monthly Podcasts" on Apple, Audacy, Spotify, and Podbean, or you can launch from the Cecil Taylor Ministries Free Content page at CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content .
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