These All Contribute to Who We Are
We are continuing through the Roots Advent study this week.
Last week was about the “someone”. We discussed Jesus’ family and the imperfect people that were a part of His family. It showed us that neither us nor our family have to be perfect to be used by God.
This week we look at the “some place”.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. A small, insignificant, out of the way place. But this small, insignificant, out of the way town is probably the most well-known town in the world.
This small, insignificant, out of the way town, in reality, is the biggest, most significant town. It is, after all, the place where Jesus, the Savior of the world, was born.
What’s really amazing is that it is so much more than just where Jesus was born.
For being a small, out of the way place, Bethlehem had a lot going on. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, is buried near Bethlehem. (Genesis 35:16-20)
The book of Ruth is a small book in the Bible, just four chapters, but there’s a big story in this small book.
Ruth was a Moabite woman who married an Israelite, Mahlon. After the death of all the male members of her family (her husband, her father-in-law, and her brother-in-law), she decides to stay with Naomi, her mother-in-law, and move back to Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:1-2)
This is where Ruth wins the love and protection of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi. Ruth is the great-grandmother of David. She is one of five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus found in the Matthew, (Matthew 1:1-16) alongside Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Mary.
Ruth’s seemingly small decision to be loyal to her mother-in-law and move with her back to the small town of Bethlehem had a big impact.
The world’s focus is on big, powerful, and popular. The world looks at the outside, but God looks at the inside.
Three things that Bethlehem show us are…
- God works through the small – The little town of Bethlehem had a big impact. Jesus, a small baby was born there.
- God works through the powerless – Bethlehem was powerless in the governmental landscape. Jesus as a baby was powerless. He needed to be taken care of.
- God works through the hidden – Bethlehem was an out of the mainstream, ordinary place. Jesus was born, hidden away there.
It’s easy to get sucked into the worldly perception of what our lives, businesses, organizations, and churches are supposed to be like, through the bombardment of social media, internet, television, etc. Don’t be sucked into the worldly focus.
God can do amazing things with the small, powerless, and hidden.
Let God do amazing things through the small, powerless, and hidden.
Let God do amazing things through you.