“It’s a Christmas miracle!” is one of the most used quotes surrounding Christmas. Many times this quote is used to describe things that seem so unlikely to happen that it is shocking when it comes to fruition. There is a not a more accurate quote for the birth of Jesus that this one. The God that had revealed himself through Scripture came to live among us. His presence allowed us to look upon the face of God and behold his care, love, patience, and compassion for his people. As we reflect upon this true Christmas miracle may it lead us to a place of deep worship and meditation upon the greatness of our God.

When you step back and begin to look at the big picture of everything, it can be mind blowing. You realize how incredible it is that the God that created this world and sustains this world is mindful of each of us. What’s even more unbelievable is to understand that God calls us to be a part of his activity in the world. Even in the Old Testament, you have the reality of that call shock one of Israel’s greatest prophets, Isaiah. Isaiah has an encounter with God that causes him to realize his drastic need for the Lord, and at that place God calls him to be his witness. This reveals a true miracle for us. When we come to the end of ourselves, God invites us into the sacred call of being his witness to the world around us.

Stories captivate us. Everyone loves to see the pieces come together in a story or a movie and for it to finally make sense. This imagery is helpful to keep in mind as we look at the Bible. It is a book written over thousands of years with multiple authors, yet it is unified in its message. Paul highlights this in one of his letters to his young apprentice Timothy. He tells him that one of the purposes of Scripture is to make him wise for salvation and every good work. The miraculous message of Scripture still guides the followers of Jesus to salvation and transformation into his likeness.

Ask any new parent and they will tell you of the miracle of birth. The design of God in our bodies to create and sustain life is truly a miracle. What we discover in the opening pages of Scripture is that life really originates from God himself. He is the source of all life. It is his breath that empowers us to live within the world that he created. God’s gift of life to us empowers us to live to into our purpose as people: to love God and love others.

Every healthy relationship, including family relationships, involves necessary boundaries. To connect and minister to those close to us, I must know what belongs to me and what does not. I must know what gives me worth and what does not. I must know what I am responsible for and what I am not. Loving others does not mean being held captive to their desires—it only means choosing to act in a way that lifts and blesses those in my life.

Much of the tension and difficulty in family relationships can be relieved or even removed with the practice of consistent gratitude. Whether or not everything is as we would have it, we can give thanks for the positive effort and intentions of those we call family. We can do so knowing that God is at work in our lives to make us more like Jesus, and it is a work that only God can do. And we can do so knowing that every need is met in Jesus—not in another person. We remove the weight of unattainable expectations and give thanks for the life we share.

Most of us, if not all, would agree that forgiveness is critical to any relationship. But agreeing and living it out in specific situations are two different things. It seems that families have a way of hurting one another with greater force than any other, and this can make forgiveness seem impossible. Yet, the magnitude of the hurt that can happen with families makes forgiveness even more important. On our own it is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.

Often family comes with drama, division, and difficulty. It can be very tempting to check out and disengage. As we will discover later in this series, boundaries are healthy and important. But before we start enforcing boundaries, we should ask God how He wants us to share His love with our engagement.

Guest Speaker: Dr Bur Shilling

Are you the type of person who tries everything you can before asking for help? Or maybe you decide something is just going to be the way it is and there’s no changing it. It is important to know that you have a loving Heavenly Father who loves you and cares deeply for you. And in every part of life, he desires for you come to him with your concerns, as the starting place and not your last resort, since there is no other place to turn for help.