Christmas – A Story of Faith

Each year, we eagerly await, prepare for, and celebrate the Christmas story, an incredible story of faith.
 
Mary, devoted to God, was chosen to carry the Christ child.  Imagine how frightening this might have been.  Yet Mary’s faith in God was so strong that instead of pointing out all that could go wrong she celebrated the gift.  Instead of focusing on her doubts, she acted on what she believed.  And what she believed was that God was with her, that God loved her, and that God had a plan for her.
 
Maybe that’s the essence of faith- having our doubts, not fully understanding - but trusting in God’s will for us and acting on that trust.
 
And what about Joseph?  When he heard Mary was expecting a child, surely Joseph had doubts, but he acted on what he believed. Joseph believed that God was good and that God had an important plan for the child.  Joseph acted on his beliefs rather than on his doubts.  Joseph acted in faith.
 
When the angels announced the birth to the shepherds, they had doubts, but they went to Bethlehem anyway.  When the wise men saw the star and read the prophecies, they surely had doubts, but they made the long trip to Bethlehem anyway. 
 
Some people struggle with the concept of faith because they find it hard to believe in the miraculous events described in the Bible.  They worry about having blind faith in a talking snake, a virgin birth, a mysterious star, a dead man brought back to life…
 
But God doesn’t call us to blind faith.  True faith involves having doubts, asking questions, but trusting in God’s goodness, despite the lack of proof or understanding.
 
Christian faith is believing that God can do the impossible, and God will do the impossible for us.  Then, taking it one step further, faith is acting on that belief, just as Mary and Joseph did so long ago.
 
Faith is dynamic and you may go through times in your life when your faith falters, when you doubt that God is working in your life.  The Bible is full of stories of people who experience this kind of doubt.
 
But even during those times, God is faithful to you.  So, when you’re ready to meet God again, or meet God for the first time, God will be there.  You don’t have to be embarrassed, or nervous about how God will treat you, you are always welcome. 
 
So, as we prepare for Christmas, by faith, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and marvel that God can reach anywhere and through anyone, even a small town like Bethlehem and a simple stable with a young girl who had faith, or a small town like Brookings and someone like you.   And God can bring hope and joy into the world.