![[Painting of the birth of Jesus]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/birth_of_Jesus.jpg)
| While they [Joseph and Mary] were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. |
| —Luke 2:6-7 |
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find this declaration in Chapter 3:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die;
time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
This week marks the ever-closer celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. For centuries, Christians have marked this occasion with an enormous sense of awe. The very fact that God would choose a virgin from a poor town in Galilee to become the human vessel by which He would introduce His one and only Son to the world, through the miraculous conception of the Holy Spirit, simply takes our breath away. So many questions flood our minds.
- How did God choose this particular time to fulfill the Old Testament prophescies about the coming Messiah?
- Why this particular young woman?
- Why this particular town of Nazareth when the Prophets has foretold the birth would occur in Bethlehem?
- How did God plant the idea in the Roman goverment officials’ minds to require a census so that Joseph and Mary would have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem?
- Why was there no room in an inn so that the baby would have to be born in a stable?
- What did Mary think when the shepherds arrived and later the three wise men?
So many questions arise. The Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post states that “…the time came for the baby to be born.” Thus, the words of King Solomon rings true: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…”
As we begin another new day, and particularly as we contemplate the celebration of the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, we should keep in mind that all things—especially the things in our own lives—occur in a time determined by God. He is the One who holds our future in the hollow of His mighty hand. How fortunate we are that this is so.
