As I’m sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta, I have had the chance to reflect on this past holiday season, and the roll it plays in the missions trip I am about to embark on. A Christmas tradition my family has, is to watch “The Nativity” together. Watching it is always such a reminder of the realness behind the birth of Christ. It is easy for us Christians to get caught up in the festivities of the season with out taking the time to reflect back on why we celebrate this holiday. The reason for the season is the hope of redemption that was brought down to earth that day; a hope that was given to us in a humble setting, and that was not easily accepted by all. It’s hard for us in our modern day world to begin to imagine what it would have been like to be in Mary and Joseph’s shoes. A very young girl, who was only engaged to her husband to be, became pregnant. While this may be acceptable in some circles of society today, back then this was very much looked down on. But she willing let herself be put in this humble position, and Joseph too joined her in humility when he supported her instead of condemning her. This young girl was then brought many miles from her family to a stable where she gave birth with out the special care of a midwife or physician. She had only God and Joseph to get her through.
But all along, in all her circumstances, she saw that she had been given a gift. And in the movie, Mary says that we each have been given a gift. And this gift was the little baby, Jesus, that she held in her arms. The One who had come to bring the gift of hope to the world. It is the gift of hope and love that Jesus brings, that allows us to begin to see and understand all that God has to offer us as His children. This gift of hope and love is what brings my squad together for this yearlong journey. It is because of this gift that we are leaving our friends and family to share the love and hope of Jesus with the nations. Because this gift is meant for all nations.
