“While they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.” (Luke 2:6-7, The Message)
His Birth in Me: “ ‘My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…’ " (Galatians 4:19) Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a ‘Bethlehem’ for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again by a birth totally unlike physical birth. ‘You must be born again’ (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that ‘Christ is formed’ in me. And once ‘Christ is formed’ in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.” (Oswald Chambers)
Redemptive and righteous God, just as you entered the world through birth, so you call all of humankind to new birth in You. May the timeless truth of John 3:7 speak into the hearts and minds of all who have not yet opened the gift of new life that the Christ child’s birth represents. Amen.
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1 comment:
I really appreciate your comments from Oswald Chambers. So helpful during the advent of Christmas. Thank you!
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