Born in a Barn: Jesus’ Messy Home — Friday
Luke 2:6-7
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. (NLT)
A quick internet search for funny quotes about families is pretty entertaining. Here are some of my favorites:
“Family reunions are gatherings of people who are still talking to each other.”
“Remember, as far as anyone knows, we are a nice, loving family.”
“There’s family, and then there’s relatives. Family are those who you’re close to. Relatives are those who you want to stay relatively far away.”
“My older relatives always poke me at weddings and say, ‘You’re next!’ So, I started doing the same to them at funerals.”
Our current teaching series, Born in a Barn, is an honest look at the Christmas story, but from an unsanitized perspective. Jon Weece continued the series Sunday by offering some insight about Jesus’ messy family. He pointed out that not one of us was raised by perfect parents in a perfect family. Neither was Jesus. Despite Joseph and Mary’s desire to faithfully follow the law of Moses, which they did, and their obedient response to what God asked of them, bringing Jesus into the world and raising Him, things were far from perfect. Even Jesus’ own siblings ended up doubting Him. All of this imperfection is an opportunity for us to acknowledge the shortcomings of our own families. Jon’s invitation to us in his message was to remain hopeful about our families, extend grace to our families, and maintain a posture of humility toward our families. Admittedly, this is not easy, especially since wounds that might have been inflicted on us by our families run so very deep.
Yes, Jesus was born in a barn. But with Him was born hope, humility, and grace. These keys unlock the prison door that holds us captive when we’ve been hurt, even if things in our families are still undone. What Jesus can do for us is give us the power to change the legacy of our families. He does that by first forgiving us. Then, we respond by forgiving others, and then changing what is necessary to ensure our family will be better moving forward.
Friday’s Reflection
Perhaps this will be the first Christmas you’ve decided to hope and humbly forgive with God’s grace. If so, it will most definitely be a merry and joyful Christmas!
