Can you smell Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year? Because it’s here!

Today, as I think about and savour Christmas, I am reflecting on the central characters of the Christmas story, and I am wholly grateful for their obedience to the will of God. I am grateful for:

Jesus obeying God the Father, humbling Himself to come from a perfect, glorious Heaven to a broken, gloomy Earth, all to save us, underserving though we were (John 6:38, Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:8, 19).

Mary’s obedience and submission to God’s will for her (Luke 1:38), even though it may have meant being subject to ridicule, especially given the time and culture in which it happened.

Joseph’s willingness to obey God and to follow God’s direction, to go ahead with his marriage to Mary, as implausible as her story may have seemed at the time (Matthew 1:19-25); and to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus and Mary (Matthew 2:13).

If they hadn’t obeyed, how would events have unfolded? It is likely that God’s plan would still have come to pass, but it may have happened through other channels, or it may have been more difficult than it needed to be.

As I reflect on this, I realise I honestly need to ask myself these questions, and answer them:

‘What is God asking me to do?’

‘Am I obeying Him?’

‘If not, why not?’

‘Are there ways I am making things more difficult in my life and the lives of others by refusing to listen to and obey God?’

‘Can I commit to truly living a life sold out to God, to live in complete obedience to His will?’

Obedience to God’s will may not always be easy for us, but it is always, always better than the alternative. At the end of the day, as Simon Peter said in Luke 6:68, “Lord to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” And if we truly believe that Jesus is the only one who has the words of eternal life, then shouldn’t we believe in, and consequently obey His word?

I pray that as we reflect on this, we will not just call Jesus “Lord, Lord” in our lives, but then turn around and not do what He tells us (Luke 6:46). I also pray that we won’t make our lives and that of others more challenging and difficult because we have not heeded to God’s Word and will. As we hear the Christmas story this season, and possibly come across nativity scenes that bring this story to life, may we reflect on the joy, hope and salvation that we have received because Jesus, Mary and Joseph obeyed.

Image source here.