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Scripture for the day: Luke 2:1-3 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census took place while Quirinius was governing Syria, so all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Thought for the day: In December of 1903, after many unsuccessful attempts, the Wright brothers accomplished a truly earth-shaking event; they flew in a heavier-than-air machine for a distance of some 120 feet! Immediately they sent a telegraph to their sister Katherine: “Have flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas.” She ran to the offices of the local newspaper and showed the telegram to the editor who glanced at it and said, “How nice, the boys will be home for Christmas.” He totally missed the biggest news of the new century! And why? Because he didn’t recognize the importance of it.
How often we tend to get caught up in the so-called major aspects of life and fail to grasp the significance of the insignificant. Now, I’m not trying to suggest that every little event in our lives or the lives of those around us is of equal importance, but you just never know when something the whole world dismisses as insignificant may turn out to be the very thing that changes history forever. Take for instance the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births.
For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become one of England’s finest statesmen. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect the literary world in a marked manner.
On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life. It was also in that same year that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby’s name? Abraham Lincoln.
If there had been news broadcasts at that time, I’m certain these words would have been heard: “The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian battlefield today.” But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America.
Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news when Jesus was born. I’m sure the topic was on the top of the conversation list for most, if not all, of those forced to return to their family villages to register for what would almost certainly become another burdensome tax. But, tucked away in a plain ordinary stable, a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of all: the birth of the Savior.
Take the time to listen for a few minutes as you hurry through the mall on your never-ending quest for just the right gift. What do you hear? What is the primary topic of conversation? It’s about gifts and parties and yes, even politics. When you leave church this Sunday (you are planning to go, aren’t you?), stand in the foyer and listen for a few minutes. What’s the topic of conversation? I will almost guarantee it will be the same as that you heard at the mall.
Let’s make a difference this year. Let’s focus on that which the world considers insignificant and see if we can’t grasp the significance of that birth we are supposed to be celebrating.
Now go take on your world. - Bill