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The virgin birth of Jesus, son of Mary, conceived
by the Holy Spirit, God incarnate, is the greatest mystery of all
time. Men may say that understanding a woman is a great mystery. How
signals reach our televisions, our cell phones or our computers is a great
mystery. I can’t understand aerodynamics or electricity or how our brains
can store one quadrillion bits of information. We can’t understand why
intimacy between a man and a woman is so wonderful.
How can Larry King have
four people from four different parts of the world all talk together at one
time? How can their pictures travel by satellite from four different
countries to Larry King? I can't anymore explain science than I
can explain the virgin birth.
But - our inability to explain mysteries does not keep us from enjoying
them! The greatest mystery of all, is to try to understand how
God could manifest or reveal Himself in the flesh. The angels didn’t try
to explain it, they just said, “Fear not, for unto to us is born this day,
in the city of Bethlehem, a Savior, Christ the Lord.” Gal.4 says that when
the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, that you and I might
receive the adoption of sons. He was sent when all of creation was pregnant
with prophecy.
How did God become a human? How do you put God, who has always
pre-existed, in a human body? How did God incarnate Himself? How did the
creator, Himself become a created being. (Matt. 1:18) How could a virgin
conceive by the Holy Ghost? How could a teenage girl keep the secret? Why
do some versions of the Bible change the word virgin to “maiden” or “young
woman.” Why are some forces coming to bear to try to wipe out the record of
the virgin birth? The Bible clearly says that which was conceived in
her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
How could a baby be born, unspotted by sin, except He not have a fleshly
father? Who can explain the mysteries of Christmas? We are not
called to explain it but to believe and enjoy a joy that is unspeakable and
full of glory. We enjoy Christ in us, the hope of Glory just as we enjoy
being born again in the Spirit ourselves. Christ is us is the mystery of
the gospel.
Can you imagine the angel telling Mary that she would carry the Son of God,
the long awaited Messiah? It was a secret too big to keep but too dangerous
to tell. She could have been stoned for fornication. Then the angel
appeared to Joseph to tell him not to be afraid also. That which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit! These were all visitations of
supernatural intervention that our finite minds will never be able to
explain. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, to be
the Savior of the world.
Why? How God came is hard enough but why did God come? Why
strip Himself of the splendors of Heaven and come to earth as our savior?
He came to save us from our sins, to take our sins upon Himself, to take our
punishment with His own life blood, in our place. We celebrate Christmas
because Christ came to be our Savior. We are celebrating His birthday, the
day that God became man.
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