Read: Micah 5:2
Time and Place are important to God and man. God’s prophecy seeks fulfillment in the territory of space and time. The Bible is not an ingenious literary invention created to give shape to the human imagination. The Bible is biographical, historical, and descriptive. It is inspired commentary on God’s interaction with mankind.
Bethlehem is just as real as Kansas City or Chicago or Des Moines. The birth of Christ took place in a relatively small and insignificant village. But it happened. It’s not a fairy tale staged in never, never land. In the fullness of time God entered our world and His creation. The Incarnate One was born in a little Palestinian village. The Savior of the world did not need the world’s power or publicity to make an impact. The angelic host was real, not ornamental. They praised God with real music heard by ordinary shepherds. The characters from Mary to Herod are not actors in a performance but people like you and me living in the real world.
Prayer: Father God, help us to appreciate what is real and what is important. We know you didn’t come to impress but to save. We accept your rule in our lives right where we live. We acknowledge that you are King of kings and Lord of lords in the place where you have put us. May the reality of Christ’s presence be felt in our community, in our homes, as it was in Bethlehem. Amen.
Thank you so much for your timely devotionals. I do appreciate reading them.
Donna
Nice to be reminded God used people like us and places like ours to do extraordinary and incomparable things!
I was in Bethlehem this spring….. it’s no longer “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” There is gift store hype all over, trying to make a buck off Jesus. A sign along the road coming into Bethlehem announces that it is under Palestinian authority. And yet….. there were sheep in the fields just outside the city. The Christmas story has always been real to me. But after being in Bethlehem, and understanding the area that Mary and Joseph had to travel to get there, the story is even more real! Thanks for this reminder!!