GOD WORKS IN MIGHTY & MYSTERIOUS WAYS

When Jesus was born it was in a stable because there was no room in the Inn.  Angels heralded his birth which brought shepherds to see him.  A star in the sky led wise men from the East to come to see him.  Other than those announcements no one would have known the Word of God had come to earth. After the invited guests left he went into obscurity; unknown, no one special, just a good boy who followed his father’s trade as a carpenter, waiting for his appointed time to come.

When Jesus died it was on a cross, nothing out of the ordinary for those who had disobeyed the rules of the day.  He did not die in obscurity or unknown.  He had left his mark on people across the spectrum of society. Pilot, the ruler of Rome, publicly acknowledged him as King of the Jews on the sign he put upon the cross.  A Centurial in the army acknowledged him as the Son of God as he watched him die.  Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who had met with him early in Jesus ministry, now had become a follower assisted   Joseph of Arimathea, also a Pharisee and member of the council, a good and righteous man who had now become one of his disciples.  These two men fearlessly and in public went to Pilot and secured his assistance to give Jesus a proper burial.  And of course the women who had followed him, one from birth to death had remained fearlessly loyal in his presence.

Jesus touched individuals, relating to them face to face.  A small group of individuals who loved Jesus and faithfully followed him would grow into a worldwide acknowledgement of this man who died for all their sins.  The seeds he planted in a few would grow into multitudes.  He came to earth as nothing out of the ordinary, taking the form of a servant, being born into the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-8)  He left earth a victor over sin and death.  He will come again as the one who is glorified and sits on the throne of God in His kingdom.  He is returning, not to stay, but to come for those who receive him and believe in his name, to take those who are children of God to the place that he has prepared; where there is always room in the Inn for whosoever will come; where his Father dwells, and rules over His creation as it was from the beginning and now shall ever shall be.

There are life lessons in the events of those days that changed the world.

One was for his disciples, the ten who had abandoned and deserted him in his hour of need; who ran and hid in fear.  After all those years of being with and learning from their Master, the disciples were helpless, powerless, and useless at his death.  Their pride and arrogance was finally broken.  They now knew experientially that without him, they are nothing.  Finally they became who they were meant to be and would be able to do the work that God through His Spirit would lead them to do; the work Jesus had trained them to do, but could only be done by broken men.  They had now been crucified with Christ.  It will be no longer they who live, but Christ who lives in them.  That lesson is for all who follow Jesus as well, as Paul points out in Galatians 2:20.

Another lesson for all who follow Jesus is that one should never despise small and seemingly insignificant moments and events; they have the potential to grow like the mustard seed or spread like leaven.  One quiet word, one small deed; one may never know what great and abundant fruit they may bare; so be faithful and hopeful, always aware that it is God’s Spirit working, and His Spirit works in mighty and mysterious ways.