Previous | Next 

Away from home at Christmas

Jake Balzer

Not being home for Christmas seems a sad state of affairs for many people today. In our culture, we emphasize Christmas as a family time, a time when family members spend quality time together and enjoy each other. This is good. The fact remains, however, that, for various reasons, many families cannot be together at Christmas. Some have to work. Some are living in different parts of the country. Others are experiencing family break-up, or a death in the family. Some are not able to spend Christmas together because they are serving the Lord in another country away from home.

Whatever our situation is during Christmas time, we can experience the presence and the enabling of the Lord to make the best of our situation. I draw your attention to some passages of Scripture that clearly illustrate how two individuals, who were not home for Christmas, experienced God’s presence in a way they had never experienced it before. We can learn some vital lessons from these two people as to how we, too, can make the best of the trying situations that we find ourselves in this Christmas season.

Mary (Luke 1:26-38)

Mary was “a virgin pledged to be married to a young man named Joseph” (1:27). From this, we learn that she lived a morally pure life and that she believed in marriage. Mary “found favour with God” (1:30). Because she received God’s approval on her life, God chose her to become the mother of Jesus, called her to do something no one else had ever done (1:31). “ ‘How will this be?’ Mary asked” (1:34). Asking God for clarification was not an expression of doubt, but an expression of her desire for understanding. Mary answered “May it be to me as you have said” (1:34). Mary volunteered to cooperate with God. She wanted God’s will to be done, not her own, and she trusted God to work out the details in her new experience. Elizabeth “exclaimed, ‘Blessed are you among women’” (Luke 1:42). Mary was encouraged by Elizabeth. Similarly, God has others prepared to affirm us when we put Him first in our lives.

Could these five statements be made about you today? Are you living a moral life? Do you believe in Christian marriage? Do you have God’s approval on your life? Are you willing to cooperate with God in doing His will? Are you being encouraged by others who also serve the Lord?

Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25)

Joseph “was a righteous man” who wanted to do the right thing in a difficult situation (1:19). When he found out Mary was pregnant, he planned to divorce her quietly. However, God assured him that the child was of the Holy Spirit and told him to go ahead and marry Mary. Joseph listened to what God said to him (1:20), believed God’s interpretation of that difficult situation (1:23), and did what God asked him to do, even though he would be misunderstood by others (1:24).

How about you? Do you desire to do what is right in God’s sight? Are you listening to what God is saying about your situation? Are you willing to believe God’s interpretation about your situation? Are you willing to obey God regardless of the consequences?

Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:1-20)

Mary and Joseph were willing to put God first in their lives. Both chose to trust God rather than their own judgement in difficult situations. Because they trusted God individually, He let them experience each other in an enriching way. God was preparing them “not to be home for Christmas”. Yet, they experienced a Christmas they would never forget, a unique Christmas that would be recorded in Scripture and read by millions for many centuries to come.

Joseph and Mary travelled 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem because the government required it. It was a great inconvenience. They faced crowded conditions and much pressure. Mary was with child far from home, nearing her delivery time. Yet Joseph and Mary believed God was in their difficult circumstances. They received approval from God through the shepherds (2:16), and they experienced God’s presence and His provision for their needs.

Could it be that God is preparing you “not to be home for Christmas”? Maybe this will be the first Christmas you will not be together as a family. Maybe this will be a Christmas when things will not go as you planned. Maybe you are afraid of what will happen this Christmas. Whatever this Christmas season holds for you, can you say, “I trust God!”? Can you say, “I am going to put God first this Christmas and learn to accept whatever He has in store for me”?

Spending this Christmas season with a growing awareness of God’s abiding presence and His bountiful provision can make this a Christmas you will never forget. Moreover, it can become a Christmas where others also will learn to trust the Lord and rejoice in Him because you led the way.

Jake Balzer, former church extension director for the B.C. MB Conference, is now part-time director of church planting for the Alberta MB Conference Church Extension Commission.

Previous | Next 

Last modified December 9, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.