Jesus Chose An Earthly Mother So That We Could Enjoy Closeness with a Heavenly Father (Christmas Paradoxes – Part 1)

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

I’m talking about “paradoxes of Christmas” in a three-part blog post series. (My outline is adapted from a message by James R. Swanson of Santa Ana, California. He defines the paradox of Christmas as “the reversal of roles at God’s [expense] for our benefit.”)

The first “paradox of Christmas” is this: Jesus chose an earthly mother so that we could enjoy closeness with a heavenly Father. (Luke 2:7a)

Mary of Nazareth. A young virgin still in her teens betrothed (promised in marriage) to Joseph the carpenter. It was she whom Christ chose as His earthly mom.

And it’s interesting to note why Mary was picked for such an important role. In Luke 1:28 the angel Gabriel declares to Mary…

“Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28b)

And then in v. 30, Gabriel continues…

“Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30)

Now from these two verses we discover that it wasn’t because Mary was sinless that she was chosen as our Lord’s mother as some might have us believe. Rather, it was because she was favored in the Lord’s sight. To be favored by God means to be made acceptable before Him. And how does anyone gain acceptance before the Lord? Well, it’s through faith in Christ that a person is made acceptable to God (which is equal to believing in the Messiah to come in Mary’s day).

So you and I as believers really stand in the same position as Mary did two thousand years ago. Each of us is acceptable to God like she was ~ we’re favored by Him! ~ because of our faith in Jesus. Thus the Lord wills to manifest the life of Christ in and through each of us for all the world to see just as He did with Mary so long ago ~ except in her case it was to take place literally. For you and I, it’s to happen via the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

So Mary was chosen to be our Lord’s mother because she’d found favor with God and not because she was sinless.

Now the ladies who are reading this who’ve had kids know the relationship between a mother and child is a very special one. There’s a unique bond between a “momma” and her offspring no matter where they find themselves in the birth order.

And yet it seems like there’s an even uniquer bond / closeness between a woman and her first-born. It must surely have been the case with Mary and Jesus. He was her first child. Before Him she’d only viewed others navigating through the joy of pregnancy, the thrills and expectations of it, and the pain of childbirth. Now Mary had experienced it all herself. And there she finally was ~ holding that precious new baby boy in her arms. Can you just feel the emotion of that moment? ~ the closeness, the bonding, the afterglow?

Jesus chose an earthly mother so that we could enjoy this same kind of closeness ~ the type He shared as an infant with Mary ~ with a heavenly Father.

This has been God’s desire from the very beginning. That He might be in intimate fellowship with man. As close as a momma is with her firstborn so the Lord desires to be close to you.

“But, Pastor,” someone reading this might say, “I’m afraid of being close to God like that.” There are many people who think like this.

Some reasons why have as much to do with the relationships these men, women and children have had with their earthly fathers as anything else. Sad to say, but some dads have either not been around for their kids, or at best, they’ve kept their distance from them emotionally though they’ve been near physically.

Then there are the dads that are overbearing, harsh or legalistic. It is these fathers that seem to have forgotten about love and mercy and grace ~ the things most needed by a son or daughter.

Now I don’t know what kind of father you grew up with, but I do know this. God is exceedingly, abundantly above him in all His goodness and kindness and emotions towards you (and even if your dad wasn’t so bad in those areas).

So refuse to be afraid of being close with the Lord. For to remain in that state (at a distance) is to succumb to Satan’s desires. The devil wants you to remain apart from God because he knows that by separating you from Him he can more easily hurt you.

Receive your Father God’s love and mercy and grace today, dear “favored” one, especially if you haven’t lately. The Lord is truly wanting you to have it at this very moment and forever.

(Picture above in the public domain: click here. PD-US)