God in us
Many of us are familiar with the famous Christmas song “Mary, Did You Know?” The lyrics invoke a profound sense of awe and wonder over the truly miraculous event of Jesus’ birth and the divinity and humility in which God sent His Son down to save His own creation in the form of a little baby. Over 2,000 years after Jesus’ birth, we tend to read the Biblical Christmas story and feel a bit of a disconnect with the plights of the characters, particularly Mary’s inspiring story of faith and obedience. We wonder what it must have been like for Mary to carry God inside of her and yet, we often completely miss the fact that we too, carry His Spirit within us. What is often a question posed towards Mary should actually cause us to pause and ask ourselves – do I really know Who is living inside of me?
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35
When the angel Gabriel delivered the message about the virgin birth to Mary, she believed the prophecy to be true and accepted the responsibility of being a mother for the Lord Jesus. However, much like ourselves today, she would have no idea the magnitude of what God had in store, for the Bible tells us that Mary treasured all the things she saw and heard in her heart and often pondered what they meant. He is the God Who does exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask, think or imagine. Who would have ever imagined that Someone who is bigger than our whole universe could live inside of us? And yet this is the reality for every believer.
Mary was the first among many who would experience what it was like to have the fullness of God living in her. Like Mary, we are ordinary, unholy vessels that carry God’s very Spirit inside of us. This is the same Holy Spirit that would cause Levitical priests to perish with just one mistake in the midst of His presence and this is also the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Because of the gift of Holy Spirit that was first made available to us on the Day of Pentecost, we as His disciples are now able to do even greater works than Jesus even did by the power of His Spirit. By the blood that was shed by Jesus, we have been given authority to heal the sick, cast out demons and even raise the dead back to life. Because He is in us, we can do all things, for nothing is impossible for Him.
As we prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ’s birth, recognize and be encouraged that the Great I Am is inside of you. May the wonder and truth of that swell up in your heart, not just this Christmas season but every single day. Like Mary, this reality should humble us and bring overflowing joy, hope and thanksgiving to God for the truly miraculous gifts we have been given. That God would not only send His Son to save us but that He would put His very own Spirit in us as our divine Helper and Comforter so that we would never need to feel helpless or alone. So do not fear or let your heart be troubled by your current circumstances or the worries of the upcoming year. Remember that He has given you everything that you need through His Spirit living inside of you. He is not just Emmanuel, God with us but He is God in us.
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