True gift of Christmas — Jesus 

The word of God tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

However, as we enter this Christmas season I ask myself this question, “Do I truly understand what real faith is?”

We live in a day and age where the church in the United States runs mostly by common sense. We know how to do church!

Even through the pandemic, we have been handed a formula on how to be successful. How to survive.

Yet, truly when God speaks to our hearts, it is not something that we easily grasp. God does not function by what we consider common sense.

The Bible tells us, “His thoughts are not like our thoughts and his ways are not like our ways.”

If God’s thoughts were like our thoughts and his ways like our ways, we certainly would not have this wonderful tradition that we call Christmas!

Furthermore, we have a tendency to even lose our faith and our purpose of the celebration in the midst of the Christmas stuff out before Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the white elephant gift exchanges.

This truly is not what Christmas is about, and we tend to take for granted the sacrifices that were made both past and present.

May our hearts remember the faith and the obedience of those who God used when God sent his son to the world, that whosoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life. May we grasp the incredible gift of Jesus again while we truly try to comprehend God loving us enough to send to us his son, birthed from spirit and flesh.

Let us not lose sight to the fact that Mary was chosen above all other women. She is a virgin and around the age of 15-16, still a child herself.

Though she is young, may we not ignore this revelation from the angel Gabriel’s greeting in Luke 1:28, “and he came to her and said, Greetings, O FAVORED ONE, the Lord is with you.”

Let’s look at the reality of this. She is called “Favored.”

Mary responds with a troubled heart. Gabriel responds with “the Lord is with you!”

Mary questions what kind of greeting this must be. There is a blessing here; God does not punish us because we are human.

Mary has a question that needs to be attended to. Gabriel proceeds to tell her, Mary has found favor with God.

Mary will conceive a child, have a son and call him Jesus. He will be called the son of the most high. You will give birth to the one who will have the throne of his father David; he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.

Mary’s response to this proclamation is not, “Oh Goody! I am going to be the mother of the Christ child!”

Her response is another realistic question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

The Holy Spirit will come upon you with power Mary. The most high will overshadow you and therefore your child will be born and be called holy - the son of God.

To understand the favor of God that Mary has here, we must understand that the American definition of God’s favor is two totally different things.

The American version of “God’s Favor” is not what we are talking about here. The American version of God’s favor is incredible peace, prosperity and promotion.

Everybody wants God’s favor in the U.S.A. without even understanding what true faith is.

What I am trying to say is we think God’s favor keeps us away from having the challenges of life. We forget that like in Mary’s case, God’s favor here means she is going to go through the biggest challenge of her life.

When one is given favor from God because of their faith, understand that more faith is required.

Why? To much is given, much is required.

At times, our faith may not be tested and for a season this is joyful. However, God’s favor comes with a promise of us being overshadowed by the most high.

That promise is not protection for a leisurely walk in the park. Being overshadowed by the most high is for when life has become incredibly difficult, and God reassures us that he is with us.

In Mary’s case, she does not receive this proclamation, work out this complicated situation with Joseph, carry the baby for a full-term pregnancy, give birth in a stable, keep the baby warm with animals breathing on him, hear every prophecy, receive every gift and visitor, ponder all this in her heart while the tune of “Silent Night Holy, Holy Night” is being sang in the background!

May we not forget, while “peace on Earth and goodwill toward all men had already been promised to the shepherds’, Mary the “highly favored one,” and her new husband Joseph, are taking the baby Jesus fleeing for their lives and moving to the continent of Africa to escape the rage of a deadly king.

Many people were questioning where God was when the babies ages two and under were being slaughtered by Herod. God was with them the whole time.

Many who experience loss or go through hard times question where God is.

May I reassure you today that God is with you always. Jesus promised that he would be with us always even to the very ends of the age.

So while we are opening gifts, drinking eggnog, eating our favorite Christmas cookies, carving the ham, picking up the wrapping paper, returning things that don’t fit and enduring long lines, let us rejoice in the Lord and be thankful for the true gift of Christmas.

Jesus was born to give his life for us. Let us not lose sight that those who were faithful, paid a price for the Christmas traditions that have been passed down to us.

Remember, to be highly favored by the Lord requires faithfulness.

Being highly favored does not mean there will be an absence of questioning, sacrifice or even heartache.

God’s favor is a promise that he will overshadow you and never leave you or forsake you.

Merry Christmas to you and your family. Peace on Earth and goodwill to you all.

Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren.