A guiding star in the East
Do we know that God is always very near to us? Every day, throughout our whole life? That He has a plan with everything that happens in our lives? The Christmas gospel can truly open our eyes to this.
God caused a star to appear in the sky. The star led the wise men of the East on the long journey to Bethlehem. “We have seen His star in the East,” they told king Herod. (Matthew 2:2.)
Several hundred years earlier, God had told the prophet Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Therefore, just before Jesus would be born, the ruler in Rome made a law that all the people in his empire should be registered. If that law was not made, Jesus could have been born in Nazareth.
Heaven is near
Very few people at that time understood how exactly God guided everything. Very few people at that time understood that God in heaven had planned the world events so that the Baby would be born that night in a stable in Bethlehem.
That night clearly showed how near heaven actually is, when suddenly a great many angels started praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” Luke 2:14. The religious leaders of the day completely missed this great moment – despite all their knowledge of the Bible. But God showed it to a godly couple, a few simple shepherds, and some wise men from the East.
To see God
Oh, how close to heaven and His heavenly Father this Child lived later in life – every day, throughout His whole life! And how carefully the heavenly Father guided the life of Jesus – every day, His whole life!
Today, many things also happen every day. Many things happen in your “little world” and mine every day.
Do we only see what is within our own little world? Or can God also show us the “star in the East”, so that we can see God who is in heaven, but who is also so very near? God, who also has a plan with our lives. Who wants us to live for Him and who will also lead and guide every little thing in our lives.
Christmas: celebrating the light
Christmas: celebrating the light. Christmas: the birth of Him who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12.
Christmas: a gospel from heaven about following Jesus with all of our hearts, every day of our lives – He who also wants to be the light of life in your life and mine.