I wonder what Mary and Joseph were doing about this time 2000 or so years ago only 7 days before Jesus’ birth. It is somewhere around 80-90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This means that Mary and Joseph were doing one of two things. First, they were either packing their clothes and feeding the donkey, or either she was riding the donkey and Joseph was walking alongside toward Bethlehem.
Nearly 180 days had gone by since the angel first appeared to Mary and then to Joseph. There were so many different things that they went through as a couple prior to the trip. They had to get through the embarrassment in their own community. They had to convince their parents and other relatives that God really did promise a Messiah. As the little Savior of the world began to grow in her womb, I’m sure the conversation in the community never ceased. Mary and Joseph were no doubt the “talk of the town.” This was a tough time for them. Honestly, the trip to Bethlehem was probably a great time for Mary and Joseph to spend some really quality time to think through, pray, and continue to talk about what was about to happen in their lives.
I tend to think that Mary and Joseph were already on the big trip to Bethlehem. What are you doing to get ready for Christmas? Are you spending time thinking about what you haven’t done? Are you marking things off a list? Are you looking for the list that you lost? Are you slowing down or are you speeding up? Let me encourage you to make the most of every moment you have this next week. In 7 days, you will celebrate the birth of Christ. In 6 days, you will celebrate the eve of Christ’s birth. What are you celebrating tonight? What will you celebrate tomorrow? Let me encourage you to celebrate Christ. Celebrate what Christ meant and means to the world. Celebrate what Christ means to you!
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased (Luke 2:14)!”