Where do we encounter our Lord?

Scriptures: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

In the book of Luke, he recorded the birth of our Lord Jesus in detail. He told us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town of David, as a fulfillment of the promise of God. Then, Luke told us something even more shocking. This Son of God was born in a manger, because there was no room for Him in the inn? That’s unthinkable! Of all the places He could have chosen to be born, why did He choose the manger? Well, I suppose we can take this question even further. Of all the families He could have chosen, why did He choose a carpenter’s family?

As a believer in the New Testament era, we know that Jesus came to save us, as proclaimed by an angel, “…He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Given His mission, I have been wondering why He was born in such a poor and lowly situation. Why did God choose such a situation as the point of His encounter with us?

Recently, we have been studying the Sermon of the Mount and the first blessing of the “Beatitude” touched me. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The first trait of people of the kingdom of heaven is their poverty in spirit. Why? Because God is spirit, as Jesus told us in the book of John. Those who are poor in spirit are then referred to the people who recognize and acknowledge the reality that they don’t have anything in God. They have looked beyond their outward appearances, wealth and social status. They have discovered that the answer to their longing in life lies in the riches of God. As a result, they acknowledge their true spiritual condition, poverty before God, and look up to God for such divine providence for purpose and meaning.

This specification of Christian trait got me to think about the question I had earlier. Why did Jesus choose such a lowly place as His entry point into this world, a community of sinners? Because that’s our true spiritual condition, poor and lowly. He recognized our condition and chose to come and dwell in our midst so as to lead us out of this poverty and into His riches. That was the place He chose to meet with us.

As we plan and celebrate Christmas, many said that the spirit of Christmas is all about giving. Granted it is part of the grace of God, I am convinced that the first step to prepare for the celebration of Christmas is the preparation of our hearts. While giving is important, I don’t believe it was the first and foremost task our Lord Jesus wanted to accomplish. The first and foremost task of His mission was to help us face our true spiritual condition before God. That’s the point where we encountered Him.

Therefore, to have a true celebration of Christmas where Jesus is the focus of celebration, we need to come back to that starting point. Only when we once again acknowledge our true condition in life will we be able to go through the celebration with gratitude and with the divine spirit of giving, as Jesus showed us.

Christmas signifies the beginning of a new era and a new relationship possible man and God. This new relationship is spiritual in nature and is expressed through loving gifts. To call it a holiday is to reduce the significance of His birth to any other earthly purposes. To give it its proper place in life, we need to go back to that point when we encountered Him and refresh our memory of this new life He has brought us. After all, that’s why they call this period of time before Christmas Advent, right?

Prayer Requests:
Those who desire a true Christmas

Prayer:
Graciously Lord, thank You for leaving all Your heavenly riches and glory to join us who are spiritually poor and deprived. As we prepare for the celebration of your birthday, please help us to remember the true meaning of Your mission so that each celebration will bring us closer to Your heart and more motivated to carry out the commission You have entrusted to us. In Your name we pray, Amen!