Faithbase

Hey faith-based friends and family, blessings to you today. Hey, just a quick reminder that our expectations shape what we see. Over the summer I was mowing a yard and there's a huge stick on the ground so I stopped the mower and I went around the mower to grab the stick and move it out of the way, only to realize as I approached the stick that it was actually a large snake with its head kind of sticking up, which of course scared me. But then everywhere I looked I thought I saw snakes, right? See, my expectations shaped what I saw. And I asked you, what are your expectations? You see, when Jesus was born there have been this 400 years of silence. It's called the intertestamental period between Malachi and John the Baptist. And a lot of history happened, but God was silent. People were waiting for a Savior. They're expecting, but they're expecting it to be so different that it shaped what they saw. It shaped their expectations and their experience and they missed it. They missed the arrival of Jesus because his arrival was so unlikely, even illogical in their eyes, right? They had an idea of a powerful ruler coming and Jesus came in a very strange way, right? An angel speaking first to Zechariah and speaking to this teenage girl who was probably 12 or 14. See, the angel bypassed Judea where God's working, had been centralized, bypassed Jerusalem, bypassed the temple, you know, the holy place of Israel, and went to a very humble home of a young girl. Some scholars say she was 14. Some other actually credible scholars argue that she's probably more like 12. Either way, to a girl, definitely illiterate. This is just illogical. And then the angel speaking to Joseph. Joseph decides to honor his betrothal, to maintain that basically engagement, even though she's found to be pregnant, born in a manger. It's just, it's so illogical and unlikely. Why would God do it this way? And I have two thoughts on it. One, he's showing that it's him, right? He's fulfilling so many prophecies about the way Jesus comes, what Jesus does, how Jesus lives, how he teaches, to show that it's him. Why? To show the, like, unprecedented measure of love is being poured out that had never been poured out in this measure before in all history. Showing his love. But also because the love is illogical. It has nothing to do with logic. And he's showing his love. So my encouragement for today is I don't want us to miss it as Christmas approaches. My question for you is, what are your expectations? Let's not miss. Let's just have this hopeful anticipation, looking for God to be moving and stirring. And I believe that we're looking forward and expecting that we'll see it. Blessings to you this Christmas season.