Something happened when we became parents: every story in the Bible had new life. Including the story of the manger. After years of just accepting the story we’ve been handed down, we found ourselves suddenly navigating a host of questions we hadn’t thought about much since WE were kids! Questions like:

“What’s a virgin?”

“What’s frankincense?”

“How did the wisemen know how to follow the star?”

“Was Jesus cold when he was born?”

“Why were they being mean to Jesus at the inn?”

“How come only the shepherds could see the angels filling the sky?”

Suddenly you find yourself casually looking over the margins of your study Bible and trying to see if you can sidestep the “virgin” question for a few more years! But despite highlighting what feels like a deep inadequacy to make sense of the Christmas story, it’s mostly a good reminder to try and read these familiar pages with fresh eyes and asking questions of our own:

How do I make room for Jesus in my heart this year?

Do I carry the utter joy of the Gospel into all areas of my life? 

What do I have to offer at the manger and what is Jesus asking me to bring?

The reality is that we never outgrow our thirst to understand the mystery and wonder of knowing Jesus more. But we’re grateful for a space in the calendar every year to remind ourselves of the importance of Jesus’ coming and why it IS the best news the world has ever seen. It’s no bad thing to calm our hearts and minds this time of year and ponder the wonder of the Nativity. 

If we’re honest, we all kind of need a reset every year, a time to reflect on the goodness of God, and Christmas is such a joyous time to do that. So as you sit with the Christmas story this year for what might feel like the thousandth time, we invite you to pray and ask for renewed wonder. Ask for the joy of this message to sink deep in your bones and come out in all you do. Ask for a renewed curiosity, for freedom to ask your deepest questions and a playfulness that allows you to rest in the mystery. This Christmas we want to approach the manger with the heart of a child.

Verse: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2: 19 (ESV)