Things don’t happen by chance

The Birth of Jesus Matthew 1:18–25

Calling to God Psalm 4, 5, 22

Proverbs 2

The readings today remind me of the intentionality that is God. Things don’t happen by chance with Him…

In Proverbs 2: 1-5 are all about if you do “x” (ask for discernment, cry for understanding, seek wisdom, etc) then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. If you choose to go after God, seek His ways, pursue Him, then He will meet you. It doesn’t happen by chance. The Psalms for today prove exactly that: the psalmist continually pursues God.

Today’s reading also covers Jesus’ birth—this one so did not happen by chance!! Joseph and Mary did not name Jesus, God did… hehe God named Himself: Saviour, God with us. God was in Jesus; Jesus was God. Poor Mary and Joseph had no idea what they were getting into. They simply believed and followed. It wasn’t easy: Mary was most likely judged and Joseph had to take an angel’s word on his future wife’s virginity. They both allowed God to shape them and guide them as they became an integral part to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, schemes in human history. Again, they had no idea what they were getting into.

Today I was asked if I could explain why I was a Christian without including my background as part of the answer (in other words without saying that I’m a Christian simply because I was born into a Christian family and that was the thing to do). I am a Christian because I want to be shaped by the God who came to earth and said that the greatest commandments are to love the Lord entirely and to love your neighbor as yourself. That is His heart. I know that all theology doesn’t always point that way and that God doesn’t provide the answers all the time. The harsh reality is that God doesn’t owe us any answers.

Pastor Judah once said something that stuck with me: God does not give us all the answers, but He gives us all of Himself... is that not enough?

I want this to be enough so that I can move and use my life for something bigger than me. I want to be intentional about this decision. I want my faith to be so simple that if God told me something as crazy as “You are to be pregnant as a virgin,” I would simply believe and follow through.