For to Us a Child is Born

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

God sent those words of promise to his people almost eight hundred years before young Mary gave birth to her firstborn in the little town of Bethlehem. That’s such a long time to wait, but God knew what he was doing then, and he knows what he is doing now. We might look at the world around us sometimes and wonder why there is so much evil and pain, but we can trust that God is looking, too, and he knows what he is doing.

As Christmas approaches, I pray that we will all continue to remember that God’s mission is ongoing both cosmically and right here in our little church family in Connecticut. God is not done. There is much work still to do. As we sing and read and pray and reconsider again this morning the blessed birth of God’s own Son, let’s remember that we don’t look back on these events as dead history; rather, we reflect on these events as key moments in an ongoing saga that God is still leading. It includes us. It needs us. And with God’s continued blessings, we may be blessed to become the blessing so many people around us need to know and experience.

God bless,

—Patrick Barber