Skip to main content

Christ Came for the poor and lowly. A poor man's Christ.

 Christ came for the poor and lowly. God choose to leave Heaven's riches and became a human being for us, in the person of Jesus Christ. I have been listening to sermons throughout this Christmas season and being mindful of the story of the birth of Jesus and what the bible has to say about it. One of the stories that has been in my mind is the Angels announcing the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds keeping watch of their sheep by night, (Luke 2:8-14) And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the LORD appeared to them, and the glory of the LORD shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the LORD. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." During that time the job of a shepherd was a lowly position, it was a job for someone who was less educated but had an understanding of life that maybe some of the other people in society didn't have. Jesus's parents found no room for them in the inn, as Mary was about to give birth to Jesus, and God designed it that Jesus was to be born in a stable, or a cave as they were back then. Jesus was born in a humble way because his parents were poor, and the shepherds were poor as well. God was and is trying to tell us that all of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ indicated that He (Jesus) was and is Lord not just of the rich, but of the poor specifically too. His birth tells us a story that the Son of God choose to be born in poverty, and God including the poor shepherds as the first to be told of the Saviour's birth by the angels, include all humanity, no one excluded. When society shuns certain people, the shepherds show us that God shuns no one. All are included especially those that people tend to look down on in society. Yes, there were wise men who celebrated the birth of Jesus, and Jesus received fancy gifts from them, however these gifts were for a king and Jesus had to be celebrated in this way. When those in society have nothing to celebrate, or nothing to hope for, God offers us His Son. There are no conditions on salvation, God just asks us to believe and have faith. This is Mike.
The story of Christmas is about God revealing Himself to certain people, and showing us that Jesus was just as much human, but sinless of course. God identified with his people with the incarnation, and asks us to identify with Christ in all of God's humanity in Jesus. He invites the poor, the forsaken, the outcasts to come to the banquet and feast upon the risen Lord, who took on the form of man, as a baby.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Some Bible Verses on Money.

  Bible verses about money. I bet you didn’t think the bible said that? Proverbs 23:5 When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.  1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Proverbs 13:11 Wealth quickly gained is quickly wasted — easy come, easy go! But if you gradually gain wealth, you will watch it grow. Psalm 62:10 Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the centre of your life. Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storeho...

My Story.

  In 1999 I suffered a mental health crisis and admitted myself into the hospital where I live, in which I was given a mental health diagnosis. I didn’t want to receive medication at the time, but unwillingly accepted it. I was in the hospital for about two months, when I asked my doctor if I could go home, and he said yes, even though he thought it would have been better if I stayed longer.   I was glad to be home though, but at 25, it took some adjusting to feel truly at home. One of the problems I was having at home was it was hard for me to eat the food in the house. I was having a psychosis where I felt the food wasn’t mine, and I literally had to go out to eat, or buy bread from the supermarket and take it home to eat it. Eventually this wore off, but I don’t remember how long.  I was now on ODSP and had a check come to me every month in order to have financial support. I would occasionally have a crisis, and ask my mom to drive me to the hospital, but eventually th...

Why has the church lost its capacity and power?

  The church has modernized itself and in the process has lost something very valuable. It has lost its capacity to be personable. The way we reach lost souls is by seeing them, by getting to know them, and by recognizing them, but people are getting lost in the church. The church has become a busy place and is also becoming a less holy place. To make disciples we have to get to know people, and technology in the church is depersonalizing souls, and depersonalizing God for them. Faith becomes a marketable commodity, whereas in the past, churches and their leaders nourished and valued personal faith. While faith is still valued, it’s becoming something that is marketable, which reminds me of the story of Jesus in the temple turning over tables (Matthew 21:12-17). The problem isn’t that the church doesn’t work or doesn’t want to share the gospel, it could be how we are doing it. The church is currently being run like a business, and each Christian metaphorically speaking has a profit...