Verse of the Day - Luke 2:31-32

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ~ Luke 2:31-32 (NIV)

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I think every parent would love to hear that their child will be great in this life. We have goals and dreams for our kids, hoping they'll do more and better than we did. Desiring them to be successful in whatever their aim is in life -- to strive for greatness. We even daydream sometimes of our kids in lofty places -- the Oval Office, the Senate floor, the Space Shuttle. We rarely think it "great" if our kids end up working in a homeless shelter or eeking out a living as a substitute kindergarten teacher.

Perhaps Mary was misled like so many other Jews regarding Jesus' greatness. Maybe she thought her son would rise to earthly greatness and overthrow the Roman government and kick King Herod out on his ear. Her ponderings may have turned to daydreams as she envisioned her son, Jesus, leading the righteous revolt against Jewish oppression.

But when he finally ventured out among the people, there wasn't the great pomp and flair. He wasn't making a political name for himself. The people he gathered to himself weren't soldiers, but rather sinners. In fact, he was the antithesis of a politician, who attempts to cut all ties to folks who could give him/her a bad name. He embraced the poor, the wretched, the sick and the lonely. Prostitutes? Sure! Money-grubbing tax collectors? Let them come! This is greatness?

And then the rumors began to rumble through the villages: there was a plot to kill Jesus. But why? What had he done?

Great men who do and say great things are often squelched by their enemies, snuffed out to keep them quiet. Lincoln, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr. But Jesus was different. Although His enemies plotted to kill Him and did slay Him on a cross, He chose that path Himself as God's sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world. As Mary looked at her firstborn son bleeding on the cross, did she think, Where is the greatness in this, God?

Humanity sees only what's in front of them. The here and now. What they can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell. Jesus was among them, and He said and did some amazing things. But it turned to tragedy on a cross, and the greatness seemed gone. Is that how many today feel about Jesus? Is it possible that they view Him as just another altruistic martyr who died for a cause, so let's honor Him with His picture on a postage stamp? Is that the extent of the greatness of Jesus in some peoples' eyes? Perhaps so.

But let me pull back the curtain and give you a glimpse of the greatness of Jesus...

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. ~ Revelation 5:11-14

He was not an ordinary man. In fact, He was not a great man. He was God become man, and He was and is great! His greatness knows no boundaries, with height and depth and breadth and length of His character and deeds being far above mortal man! What the angel told Mary was so true, even though she and many others could not grasp it. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.

With all the disparaging and minimizing that the world does toward Jesus, please don't despair, my friends. The greatness of the Lord isn't diminished by man's puny attempt to make Him less than He is. He is great, and greatly to be praised! I hope you recognize the greatness of your Creator today, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day.

Love,
Joelene