Herod: The Part of Me That Doesn’t Want Another King
Herod is the part of me that does not want another king, that does not want to bow down before anything else that is not myself. This part of me is completely ruled by my fear, the fear that I am not enough.
This fear distills itself into pride, to prove that I am enough by myself, rather than enough when completed by Christ. Herod is the part of me that will defend my own kingdom no matter the cost, (Matt 2:16) the part of me that ignores the desire of my heart to worship the God who created me, and instead turns to other idols and addictions to appease my ego.
The Three Kings: My Deepest Desires
These men and their journey are the part of my heart that knows I am made for more and that yearns for an adventure to find that.
Though they were strangers from a far-off unnamed land, they were not content until they had followed their deepest longings to find the infant king of the Jews (Matt 2:2). How far beyond themselves they must have gone! Beyond their own countries, their own cultures, presumably their own religion.
Like the Wise Men, we will follow that star, that desire, where ever it takes us. Perhaps too the Wise Men represent the true moments of joy in our lives, the times when we recognize how close God is to us, when God takes us on an adventure beyond our wildest dreams, when God shows us what we are longing for, and allows us to kneel close before Him.
Joseph: Courage and Strength
I think the worst times in life are the times when something so terrible has happened that it feels as though the earth has been ripped from beneath you and the map of your life has been torn up.
I wonder if this is how Joseph felt when he heard the news of Mary’s pregnancy. Reassurances from an angel aside, courage and strength were required for probably longer than we give St Joseph credit for. Perhaps it was a daily learning to re-calibrate his will to the will of the Father.
Joseph is the part of my heart that says yes, God, I will trust in You, and I will take on what is not my own, and I will exercise true love in putting what is best for the other person above what I want. Joseph is the part of my heart that accepts that God’s plan is better than my own, the part of my heart that acknowledges that even when I feel like a stranger in my own life, I can still trust that God has my life in His caring hands.
Mary: My Heart at My Most Deepest and Purest
Mary is the part of me that sits in peace before the Father, knowing that I don’t need to hide anything before Him. She is the part of my heart that openly trusts in God, knowing that He is good and that whatever He asks of me is good.
She is the part of my heart that knows God is God and I am not. But she is also the part of my heart that knows I am not defined by that “not”. She is the part of my heart that knows I am defined by my place as a son or daughter of the King, that I am “clothed with strength and dignity” (Proverbs 31:25) and that all my actions and choices in life come through that definition.
Christ: The Desire of My Heart
Each of these characters, in varying different ways and depths, had direct encounters with the child in the manger. Gathered around Him at the stable, He poses us the biggest challenge of our lives: dare we get to know Him, dare we respond to who He is?
Dare we listen to His calling in the quietest chambers of our heart, where nothing else dares to tread? Most of all, dare we still ourselves enough to sit in His presence and feel His peace?
We are all asked this. Each character had their own free will to choose how they would respond. We are not called to chop ourselves up to get through the narrow door of the stable.
المقال ده من أحلى ال reflections اللى قرأتها عن المياد وشخصياته، الكاتبة هنا بتتأمل كل شخصية في قصة الميلاد وأزاي كل واحده منهم بتعكس شكل قلبنا زي مثلا هيرودس: ده الجزء اللى جوانا اللى بيرفض ويقاوم وجود ملك تاني على حياتنا، الجزء اللى بيملك بدافع الخوف وبيخلينا بدل ما نعبد الله بنعبد أمور أخرى في حياتنا، وهكذا لباقي الشخصيات المقال فوق الرائع وأرشح نشره بقوة.
The Hope for 2022 That Only Christ and Christmas Can Bring
Cindi McMenamin
Psalm 118:24 tells us “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (ESV), I believe we must also say “This is the year the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be thankful for it, too.”
Our hope is not in a new year around the corner. Our hope is not in open-mindedness or a new way of thinking. And our hope is not in a forthcoming vaccine.
Our hope lies in what only Christ and His coming to earth brought to us. Here is the hope for 2022 that only Christ and Christmas can bring:
1. We Have a God Who Understands
God came to earth in the form of a baby to walk this soil, understand our hurts, and show us it’s possible to live a life on earth amidst our suffering in complete faith, obedience, and dependence on our Creator God.
Hebrews 4:15 says in Jesus we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and “One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin” (NASB).
Jesus understands physical suffering, misunderstanding, emotional letdown, betrayal by those closest to Him, temptation to sin, and everything we will ever encounter on this earth.
Therefore, our hope is in the One who ultimately has gone before us, and who can help us in whatever we’ve gone through and whatever lies ahead.
2. We Can Experience True Peace
When Jesus was born the angels proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14, KJV). Jesus’ birth brought peace–not that wars ceased or there was sudden international political unity. We were, instead, given a peace that passes all understanding because we can know, personally, the One who IS peace.
Before leaving this earth to die on a cross for the sins of all who would put their faith and trust in Him, Jesus said, “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful” (John 14:27, NASB).
Jesus’ peace entered the earth when He came and He left His peace here on earth, through His Holy Spirit that indwells the hearts of those who have put their trust in Him. Only Christ can bring that peace. And Christmas reminds us of it.
3. We Can Be Saved and Experience the Hope of Heaven
In a world of uncertainty, confusion, and strife, we can often feel we are not making the mark. In a world in which we must work for everything we have, God demonstrated to us that there was nothing we could do to save ourselves, but rely on the grace of God and exercise faith in His Son who sacrificed Himself on our behalf to become our ransom for sin.
There is no greater joy, peace, or hope than knowing, without a doubt, that we are saved into His family (Romans 8:15), and will live securely in heaven with Him eternally.
You no longer have to guess or gamble on being “good enough” for God. You have only to admit you can never be good enough on your own and that Christ was sufficient as the pure and obedient sacrifice that was needed to atone for your sins.
With that assurance, you can spend the rest of your days on earth praising Him, serving Him, obeying Him out of love for what He did for you. Rejoice, believer! Salvation is here… through the birth, death and resurrection of God’s only Son.
Rejoice in the hope that is yours this Christmas. And remember that 2022 will also be a year that the Lord has made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it.
