Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7

You know one of the things I LOVE about Jesus? I love that there is no end to the depth of His goodness and love. I love that I can see it layered throughout His word and the details of my life and relationship with Him. He’s constantly nudging my heart to immerse itself in something He knows it needs. And as a result, my heart has settled on a different aspect of the Christmas story this year. Nothing new, really, just another layer of love to rest in. But it feels new. It feels like an epiphany of sorts and I always end up feeling like a new Christian being exposed to the breathtaking concept of grace for the first time. So, now that you’re convinced I have something to say, here it is: God, willing. These two words have been floating around my head bringing me to tears and leading me to ponder my own willingness. He was willing to leave the glory in Heaven to walk the dirty streets of Earth as a human being tempted and despised. WILLING! I barely leave my house in winter willingly! So not only did He come down to earth to die, He lives the full human experience! We all know a baby, especially your own, is the most helpless and precious thing you can hold in your arms on this earth, and JESUS, came into this world with human needs that had to be met by an earthly mother and father! WHAT?! This rescue plan has more than one layer that God can use to inspire joy, hope, peace, love, or sacrifice in your life!  That GOD THE SON chose to be ANY part of it, should bring you to your knees.

So what am I willing to do? Obviously I can’t add anything to my salvation and even attempting to do so should feel offensive. Jesus is enough, AMEN! But He uses us for His glory and we should be willing and able to do just that if nothing else in this life! How do we become willing? Willingness feels like conviction for me right now. For me it’s weeding out things that are meaningless and making space to be intentional with my family and the training of our children, my ability to be available for people in need, emotionally or physically, and the time I have to devote to resting and building up my relationship with my Savior. We need to listen for His voice! Where is He asking you to be willing? And are you really? The Christmas story begins a life for our Savior that ends by crucifixion. Yet He was willing. Be willing.

Make time to explore the ways the story of Jesus’ birth can impact your heart! His love is magnificent! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and may the love born in that stable fill your heart and draw you to His!