A Christmas Reflection

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:18-21).

What captures your heart at Christmas?

The supernatural event of Mary conceiving and giving birth to her son, Jesus Christ, captures mine. This miracle has gripped my heart since I was a kid. Think about it. How could a woman give birth to a child without sexual intercourse? It can only occur through a supernatural, miraculous act of an Almighty God.

As I reflect on these verses in the gospel of Matthew, here is what hits me:

God is on Display! “…she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18c). God’s Word is fulfilled as He orchestrates the birth of His One and Only Son, Jesus – which means “the Lord saves”.

James Montgomery Boice writes, “What a name this is! Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jeshua or Joshua, and it means quite literally “Jehovah is salvation.” This is the message that was conveyed to Joseph primarily, for he was told that the one who had been conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit was a divine Messiah, the one who had been promised from the very beginning of Israel’s history, and even before that, and that the work of this divine person would be a work of salvation, since “he will save his people from their sins.” The prophesy from Isaiah reinforces this, for in addition to predicting that the Lord’s conception would be supernatural (“the virgin will be with child”), the text also declares that he will be God incarnate, since his name will be Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14) (J.M. Boice, The Gospel of Mathew, pp. 26-27).

A Couple Committed to One Another. A betrothal in Jewish times was a serious commitment to marriage. Before Joseph and Mary came together as husband and wife, God intervened in their lives with the pregnancy of a baby, Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Wonder what Mary thought when this happened? Luke captures her heart, she’s ready to be used by God, no divorce is on her mind, when she learns from an angel that she will give birth to Jesus. Luke writes Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38). Mary goes on to glorify God and worship Him for what He has done. “And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name” (Luke 1:46-49).

Joseph, on the other hand, not only thought, but wanted to pursue breaking off the betrothal with Mary. But, God sovereignly intervened and Joseph remained committed to her.

God Reigns. The prophecy proclaimed some 400 years before Jesus birth actually happens. The prophet Isaiah writes,

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6).

God and His word are true and reliable.

Humble Obedience. Joseph and Mary obeyed God and trusted in Him. Joseph thought about divorce, but trusted God and obeyed Him. Mary simply yielded herself to be servant for God’s glory and the furthering of His kingdom through the birth of His son.

Through My Eyes

On the eve the Chicago Bears play the Denver Broncos tomorrow, December 11, I am wrapping-up Tim Tebow’s autobiography – Through My Eyes. That is kind of surreal. The book came out earlier this year when Tebow was the 2nd string quarterback (QB) behind Kyle Orton. Through the first few games of the season, starting quarterback Kyle Orton’s performance was unsatisfactory while fan support for Tebow grew.

During the fifth game of the 2011 season Tebow entered the game after half time. He has not looked back since then. The Broncos let Orton go and they have won five of their last six games. Many have been won last minute victories led by Tebow!

I have not followed Tebow until now. I knew he played college football with the Florida Gators leading them to National Championships in 2006 & 2008. He won numerous college football player awards including the Heisman Trophy which he won as a sophomore in 2007 and was the first player ever to win the award as a sophomore.

Tebow’s autobiography chronicles his life from the cradle to the 2010 NFL draft when he was taken by the Denver Broncos. Six things grabbed my attention in reading this book:

1. Tim Tebow’s parents’ were committed to raising a family that honored Jesus Christ.

Tebow, the youngest of five children, was born in the Philippines as his parents were missionaries. During the pregnancy his mom experienced bleeding. She was told that if she carried baby Tebow to term her life would be in jeopardy. To preserve her life an abortion was an option, but she remained committed to carry her baby to delivery.

After Tim was born, the doctor told his parents, “…your child is a miracle baby. I can’t explain how it happened, but despite all odds, he beat them. Only a small part of the placenta was attached, but it was just enough to keep you baby nourished all these months” (p. 4).

Years later, in 2009, during Super Bowl XLIV Focus on the Family sponsored a t.v. commercial with Tebow and his mom promoting the sanctity of human life.

2. Tebow is driven to excellence and give God all the glory. As the youngest child, with two older sisters and two older brothers, it was competitive in the Tebow home. Each brother tried to top one another is whatever they did. Tebow writes, “It didn’t matter if it was Monopoly or chess inside with my sisters or baseball or basketball outside with my brothers—or if I was four and the rest of them were far older. They took no prisoners—the rules applied equally to all” (p. 10).

His parents made a rule than no one who bring up one’s accomplishments and brag about them unless someone first asked them about it. They based this on Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not our own lips.” Tebow writes, “It was a great lesson for us toward living our lives with a humble spirit, a lesson we needed to learn and continue to work on” (p. 14).

3. Tebow looks to the needs of others before himself. He writes going into 2007 that it was not about winning the SEC and National Championship, “It wasn’t about what we would or would not accomplish. It was about coming together and committing ourselves to one another to be the best we could be. It was about building relationships around sacrifice for the team, wanting the best for the other guy, and not caring who got the credit for our mutual success” (p. 124).

Tebow did not have a date for the Home Depot Awards ceremony in Disney World. Kelly Faughan was there with her parents on vacation in hopes of meeting him. The year before she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had subsequent brain surgery. Tebow saw her through a restaurant window and invited her to meet him. Since he did not have a date for the awards ceremony he asked her to attend the evening with him.

4. Tebow is passionate about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On and off the football playing field, Tebow is faithful to share his hope in his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is he real deal. He walks the talk. “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:5-6).

In college he tactfully included Scripture verses – Philippians 4:13; Proverbs 3:5-6, and John 3:16 -- on his eye black. During the 2008 National Championship game when he wrote John 3:16 on his eye black over 94 million people searched on Google for it during and immediately after the game (p. 209).

5. Tebow is committed to personal purity and saving himself in marriage.

A reporter asked Tebow, “You’ve worn your religion on your sleeve…and I think that’s made you popular in the South and all over the country, that even if you’re beating…their teams, they still like you personally. Are you saving yourself for marriage?” Tebow responded…”I didn’t dodge the question and answered truthfully, “I am.”

Tebow states, “To his point, athletes seem to be in the news far too much for the negative ways in which they relate to women, all too often with a lack of respect, and horrifyingly, at times, with violence. That distresses me. God wants us to foster healthy relationships in all areas of our lives, and those relationships should never be marked by conquest or putting ourselves or our needs ahead of others’. We are called to serve. I may not have thought the question to be appropriate, but thinking about it afterward, I realized that young women and men heard my answer and would continue to hear it going forward. As a result, there was a chance that they might find encouragement in my words and lifestyle to do the same and to wait until they were married to be sexually active” (pp. 214-215).

6. Tim Tebow is more concerned about character than personal accomplishments.

He writes about the importance of giving it your all even when no one is watching. He writes, “This isn’t about when we’re out there with the cameras rolling and pointed in our faces. I may say I’m playing for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. True. But it’s not just that. It’s about going out every day, in every setting, and working hard. It’s about being dedicated and playing hard because I honestly believe that God receives joy when He sees me doing that with the skills he blessed me with” (p. 173).