The Gift: Advent Bible PlanSample

Noel

“Creation's groans are retired

Drowned out by the baby's first cry

Lift Him up, He the centerpiece

Came to His home, it was bittersweet

He was in the womb, plotting inner peace

Made friends out of enemies

The winning streak, it ain't finna cease

Baby clothes couldn't cloak His divinity, yeah

Who would've known that this babe was the King on the throne.”

The birth of Jesus was miraculous not just by the means of immaculate conception, but because of what it represented. Up until the time of Jesus’ birth, man was not allowed to be in the presence of God outside deep ritual cleansing. Man and God were enemies. Further, women generally didn’t come into the presence of God as they weren’t priests. With the virgin birth of Jesus, God initiated a new kind of relationship with man. In this new relationship, the presence of God would now rest with anyone who would receive Him by faith. Humans no longer needed a priest and cleansing, Christ was the final intermediary, so ultimate that no others would be needed. The conditions for residing in the presence of God became miraculously accessible!

Years upon years of ritual and everything changed with the first cries of a baby. All of creation could now behold the presence of God through Jesus as he walked the Earth and defeated the power of sin in the world! Where sin drove separation, Christ created unity and intimacy. This power to remove the separation between us and God is profoundly significant to our lives. If God, through the birth of Jesus, could usher in a new kingdom and a new relationship with man, what else could be off limits to the Lord? If God can use a babe and make him King, final priest, and Savior, what is beyond the Lord’s abilities?

Prayer: Is there anything that you think is too big or too impossible in your life? Reflect on God’s ability to conceive a baby from a virgin, give birth to that baby, and then crown him King. Give thanks to God that through the miraculous birth of Christ Jesus a new kingdom has come and nothing can stop his reign.