by Carla Williams
A crowded city full of out-of-town guests. Busy streets. Overflowing inns. An abundance of noise, jostling, busyness, chaos.
And in the midst of this mayhem, there’s one more infant crying in the night. An event so normal that few would even notice the added voice from the stable.
Nearby, some shepherds do what they’ve done every other night for years.
Nearby, some shepherds do what they’ve done every other night for years. They guide stubborn sheep into the safety of the flock. They watch for predators. They sit together and tell stories. They gaze absently at the stars.
An altogether ordinary evening.
Except the young mother is a virgin. The shepherds become the audience for the most glorious announcement ever made. And the bellowing child in a manger is the divine Son of God.
Christmas a beautiful paradox between the ordinary and the decidedly, supernaturally extraordinary. It’s the combination of man’s unending frailty and God’s immeasurable strength. It’s the marriage of broken humanity and magnificent holiness.
Christmas is the marriage of broken humanity and magnificent holiness.
This is who God is. This tremendous paradox is how He moves. He takes our meager, impossibly wobbly obedience and creates something that changes the world.
He transforms everything ordinary about us and accomplishes His uniquely extraordinary purposes.
Team Expansion is comprised of 350 ordinary people.
We’re needy, broken, insecure, inadequate, prideful, and wretched. Yet, God is faithful. He sees our willingness, our small offerings, our choices every day to trust Him.
And He is moving. He is drawing people to Himself. He is transforming hearts, families, and whole communities.
Those who were lost and wandering are finding a home and an anchor. Those who were angry and broken are full of peace and basking in the peace of restoration.
God is taking ordinary obedience and creating a thriving global Church. All for His glory. All for His Kingdom. All for His Plan.
Just like He did at Christmas.
Read the Christmas story in Luke 2.
