Every character in the Christmas story encountered God on a heart-level. They were moved in their hearts to respond to God-incarnate, to Emmanuel, God in flesh.
Take Joseph. When he found out that his fiancé was pregnant, he was sure she had cheated on him, but because his heart was tender toward Mary, because he was “one of the good guys,” he didn’t want to subject her to the disgrace the Law called for. In fact, the law called for her death, but to spare her life and to spare her unnecessary shame, he was going to slip out of the relationship quietly. That was his plan.
But when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife because the baby inside of her was in fact conceived by the Holy Spirit, and then the angel went on to instruct him to name the baby Jesus because He would be the Messiah who would “save God’s people from their sins…” when all of that was told to Joseph, he discarded his plans. He allowed his heart for Mary and his heart for God to receive the angel’s message. Matthew 1:18 says, 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
What I see when I look at the decisions Joseph made is an obedient heart.
You know the Bible doesn’t record one word that Joseph ever spoke, but in many ways, his actions spoke louder than words. He faithfully obeyed God, and he honored his wife even when the law declared he could have put her to death. Surely Joseph was someone whose heart belonged to the Lord. Joseph chose obedience to God’s plan. He had in mind to leave Mary. His feelings told him to leave Mary. But instead of following his thoughts and feelings, Joseph chose to lead his heart based on the truth God had revealed to him. Sometimes obedience requires that we lead our hearts to trust God over our thoughts and feelings. Do you have that kind of heart today?
And what about Mary? She had her own angelic visitor. She learned that her body would be commandeered by the power of God to bring Jesus into the world through a Divine conception and virgin birth. She was told just Who it was that she would be bringing into the world. He was the prophesied One, the Messiah, the second Person in the Trinity, Jesus, the Savior of the world. That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Mary was a young girl in her teens. Thoughts of being the mother to the Messiah wouldn’t ever have occupied her mind. She knew she was going to marry Joseph, but this was a plot twist she never saw coming.
Do you know she never asked, “What if Joseph leaves me because he thinks I have cheated on him?” She never asked, “What if I am put to death by stoning as the Law of Moses calls for?” She never asked what would happen to her if she agreed to the plan. She only asked how it would happen since she was a virgin. Once the angel explained the role of the Holy Spirit in the conception, the words that tumbled out of her mouth came directly from her heart. Luke 1:38-“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Because she had a surrendered heart, she could surrender her body. Listen, when you have a surrendered heart, when God asks you to give your money for a certain cause, it’s a joy to give. When you have a surrendered heart, and God asks you to go out of your way to bless someone, even if it costs you personally like it was going to cost Mary, it’s not difficult to say, “Yes.”
I also love what we see in the heart of the shepherds. They were sure taken by surprise when they were just watching the sheep and a boatload of angels showed up in the sky to announce the birth of Christ. What do you do with the information that the Savior has been born?
What would you do with that information? We can tell something about the heart of the shepherds by how they responded. Luke 2:15 says, 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:15
They weren’t just satisfied with the information, although the way they received it, via the angels in the sky was pretty compelling. People with a heart for God don’t get it from information alone. A heart for God isn’t cultivated by watching someone else encounter Him. A heart for God comes through a personal desire to have a personal experience.
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Luke 2:16-18
The shepherds left their encounter with Jesus with a heart to tell others about Him. They received a heart to witness. They weren’t worried about their low social status. Back in a time when shepherds couldn’t be witnesses to anything in a court of law, they didn’t even worry if anyone would believe them. They spread the word about Jesus.
A Christmas heart is a heart to witness about the birth of the Christ-child.
Last, but not least, are the wisemen or the Magi as some translations call them. Matthew 2:1-2- After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
We don’t even know for sure what country they were from, but scholars think they came from Babylon. They were astronomers or at least were looking to the sky for answers. From observing the bright star in the sky, they determined a king had been born. They made about a 500-mile trip. It wasn’t an easy trip to make. It was long and arduous, probably dangerous at times. I doubt anyone makes that kind of trip just out of curiosity. I believe the Holy Spirit was drawing them. I believe they had a heart that was open to more than knowledge. I believe they had a heart of expectation. They believed they were going to see someone who was worthy of their worship. The gifts they took indicated that was their purpose.
God had given them insight into the meaning of the star. They weren’t following a star. They were following God. Matthew’s Gospel goes on to say verses 7-10, 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (only we know Herod wasn’t interested in worshipping Jesus. He wanted him dead.)
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed/they rejoiced!
Matthew called it rejoicing. I wonder if it was chest-bumping, high-fiving, dancing like they were in the end zone or if they fell on their faces and cried happy tears. It was a demonstration for sure, enough of one to cause Matthew to use the word “rejoice.”
The Magi had a searching heart. Not only did they have a searching heart, but they came prepared to honor and worship Jesus. Matthew 2:11- 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
A Christmas heart is a heart to seek out a relationship with God. A Christmas heart is a heart to worship Him when you find it. Do you have a heart for Christmas?
No one can change or undo what God has done in sending a Savior. We can have a heart that is obedient and seek to adjust our lives to the truth God has revealed. We can have a heart of surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to have full say and sway over our entire being. We can have a heart to witness and let others know what we have experienced. We can have a heart to seek the truth and a heart to worship when we find it, or we can reject the Christ of Christmas.
But even then, you can’t change the fact that Jesus came for you. Really. Jesus came for everyone. He came for those who would receive Him, for those who would obey Him, for those who would surrender to Him, for those who would witness about Him, for those who would seek Him and worship Him, and He came for those who would reject Him. Your heart is either open to Christ or it is closed. My question for you is simply this: Do you have a heart for Christmas this year?
