Entering Our Mess
READ
The Creator of the universe, who spoke galaxies into existence, chose to enter our world as a helpless baby. Not in a palace with royal fanfare, but in a stable surrounded by the smell of animals and the chaos of an overcrowded town. This wasn't Plan B - this was always God's heart.
Let’s take a moment to read Luke 2:1-20:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
REFLECT
The shepherds watching their flocks that night were society's outcasts. Night shift workers, considered unclean by religious standards, they were the last people you'd expect to receive heaven's biggest announcement. Yet God chose them as the first witnesses to the Incarnation. The angels didn't appear to kings or priests first - they appeared to blue-collar workers just trying to make ends meet.
Mary and Joseph, two teenagers navigating an unplanned pregnancy and societal shame, found themselves at the center of God's rescue plan for humanity. They didn't have it all figured out, but they said yes to God's invitation anyway. Their willingness to trust, even when the path seemed impossible, opened the door for Emmanuel - God with us.
This birth story reveals something profound about Jesus's character: he doesn't distance himself from our struggles. From his very first breath, he chose to experience human limitations. He knows what it's like to be cold, tired, and displaced. He understands family stress, uncertain futures, and not having a comfortable place to sleep.
The baby in the manger grew up to be the man who said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened." He can extend that invitation with complete authenticity because he's been where we are. God becoming human means that no matter what you're facing today - financial stress, relationship problems, health scares, or deep loneliness - Jesus has felt it too.
The shepherds returned to their fields "glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen." They didn't become different people overnight, but they carried a different perspective. They had encountered God in the most ordinary circumstances of their lives. The same is true for us. Jesus enters our ordinary Tuesday afternoons and difficult seasons with the same transforming presence he brought to that first Christmas night.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where in your life do you most need to experience "God with us" right now?
How does knowing Jesus chose to experience human struggles change your perspective on your current challenges?
Like the shepherds, what ordinary moments in your life might God be using to reveal his presence?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Jesus, thank you for choosing to enter our messy, complicated world instead of staying safely distant. Help me recognize your presence in both my struggles and celebrations. When life feels overwhelming, remind me that you understand every human emotion and experience because you've lived them too. Amen.