Trusted with a Mission...and Circumstances
I’ll never forget the thoughts racing through my mind after Hannah, our first-born child, was buckled in her car seat, ready to be taken home – Are they really going to let us just walk out of here with this baby? What if I do something wrong or forget how to do something? There won’t be anyone at home who will be able to answer my questions or show me the right way to do things. I’m just not sure I’m prepared to do this…well, too late for that. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck and felt very unqualified to be a dad.
Now imagine you are told that you are not only going to be a parent, which you weren’t prepared for, since you weren’t even married yet, but also that the child you would be having is the Messiah. You would probably understand the importance of making sure you do everything right and keeping this child alive. You would probably also imagine the life that you want to provide for this child, Emmanuel – God with us. You would want to make sure life was perfect, and he grew up in a home and community fit for a king. You imagine his birth and his childhood being nothing less than perfect.
Then reality hits and you ask, “Why me?” Perhaps Mary and Joseph faced that as well. They were young and had no experience with parenting. They were not rich, and just before Mary gave birth to Jesus, they were forced to go to Bethlehem for the census and give birth to the Christ-child in a stable. After this, they were forced to flee to Egypt for some time and eventually settle in the ghetto of Nazareth – the community mocked by all Jews with the phrase, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) I’m certain this was not the life they imagined for Jesus.
I’ve wondered how often Joseph berated himself, contemplating what he could have done differently to make a “better life” for his family. What regrets did Mary have? Were they hard on themselves because this child, who deserved everything good in life, was “stuck” with a family who could only provide his most basic necessities in an impoverished and shunned community? Did they wrestle with these thoughts as we often do with the circumstances God has entrusted to us? Did they ask, “Lord, how am I supposed to do right by this child with the circumstances you have put me in?”
Just like Mary and Joseph, God has entrusted us with a mission and circumstances. You might ask yourself, “How can I make a difference in the Kingdom in these circumstances?” You might reason with God, “If only my circumstances were slightly different in this way, I would be able to do so much more for the Kingdom of God.” He did not make a mistake when he entrusted them to you. God knew the home that would be just right for Jesus. He knew the difference that would be made for the Kingdom of God by entrusting those circumstances to Mary and Joseph. He also knows the circumstances to entrust to you to make the greatest difference in the lives of others and for his Kingdom.
My prayer for you is that, rather than trying to escape these undesirable circumstances, you will find peace and ask God what he is teaching you and how he can use them to help you accomplish the mission he has given you – to take the Kingdom of God where you live, work, and play.
With much love,
Bryan
Now imagine you are told that you are not only going to be a parent, which you weren’t prepared for, since you weren’t even married yet, but also that the child you would be having is the Messiah. You would probably understand the importance of making sure you do everything right and keeping this child alive. You would probably also imagine the life that you want to provide for this child, Emmanuel – God with us. You would want to make sure life was perfect, and he grew up in a home and community fit for a king. You imagine his birth and his childhood being nothing less than perfect.
Then reality hits and you ask, “Why me?” Perhaps Mary and Joseph faced that as well. They were young and had no experience with parenting. They were not rich, and just before Mary gave birth to Jesus, they were forced to go to Bethlehem for the census and give birth to the Christ-child in a stable. After this, they were forced to flee to Egypt for some time and eventually settle in the ghetto of Nazareth – the community mocked by all Jews with the phrase, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) I’m certain this was not the life they imagined for Jesus.
I’ve wondered how often Joseph berated himself, contemplating what he could have done differently to make a “better life” for his family. What regrets did Mary have? Were they hard on themselves because this child, who deserved everything good in life, was “stuck” with a family who could only provide his most basic necessities in an impoverished and shunned community? Did they wrestle with these thoughts as we often do with the circumstances God has entrusted to us? Did they ask, “Lord, how am I supposed to do right by this child with the circumstances you have put me in?”
Just like Mary and Joseph, God has entrusted us with a mission and circumstances. You might ask yourself, “How can I make a difference in the Kingdom in these circumstances?” You might reason with God, “If only my circumstances were slightly different in this way, I would be able to do so much more for the Kingdom of God.” He did not make a mistake when he entrusted them to you. God knew the home that would be just right for Jesus. He knew the difference that would be made for the Kingdom of God by entrusting those circumstances to Mary and Joseph. He also knows the circumstances to entrust to you to make the greatest difference in the lives of others and for his Kingdom.
My prayer for you is that, rather than trying to escape these undesirable circumstances, you will find peace and ask God what he is teaching you and how he can use them to help you accomplish the mission he has given you – to take the Kingdom of God where you live, work, and play.
With much love,
Bryan
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