12月24日
平安之夜
“他要为大，称为至高者的儿子；主上帝要把他祖大卫的位给他。他要作雅各家的王，直到永远；他的国也没有穷尽。」”
路加福音 1:32-33
天使加百列想帮助可怜的马利亚……呃，我是说“蒙恩的”的马利亚明白她的尴尬处境，我的意思是——“她的祝福”，他接着就告诉马利亚这个大喜的信息。他告诉马利亚，她要怀孕生子，要给他取名叫耶稣。然后，加百列镇定自若地说：“喔，马利亚，这个孩子，将会非常伟大。”
没人会反对加百列的说法。毫无疑问，耶稣当然伟大，不是一般的伟大。他将是伟大中的伟大，超乎寻常的伟大，气势磅礴的、惊天动地的、让人瞠目结舌、哑口无言、无与伦比的伟大！这句话简单明了，空前绝后。
值得一提的是，加百列的确做了进一步的说明。他除了阐述耶稣的伟大之外，还向马利亚应许说：“这个孩子将是神的儿子，而且他的国没有穷尽。因此，不要害怕，马利亚。”
今日祷告：
耶稣，祢如此伟大。让我深深铭记这一点。阿们。
December 24
Christmas Eve
He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!
LUKE 1:32–33
Trying to help the poor…er, I mean “favored” girl understand her predicament—er, there I go again—I mean “blessing,” the angel Gabriel went on to deliver to Mary information about her bundle of joy. He told her she would be with child, give birth to a son, and give him the name Jesus. Then Gabriel said, without shaking his wings, “Oh, and Mary, he will be very great.” Uh, yeah.
No one could disagree one bit with Gabriel’s assessment of Jesus. Jesus simply, no argument, would be great. Not kind of great. He would be the definition of and the very model of greatness. Masterfully great. Aweinspiringly, knee-shatteringly, jaw-droppingly, arms-raisedly, angeldumbfoundedly great. Gabriel couldn’t have said it any simpler. Never before or since has one uttered such an eternal understatement.
To his credit, Gabriel did elaborate a bit. Besides the fact that Jesus would be great, Gabe casually reassured Mary, “Your son will be the Son of God and, by the way, his kingdom will never end. So, uh, don’t be afraid, Mary.”
Pray for the Day:
Jesus, you are greater than I realize. Let that sink into my heart tonight and tomorrow. Amen
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