The Good News

Isaiah 9:6

"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."

Q: How is it possible for you to compare Christmas stories in the Bible to modern life today, a couple thousand years after it was written?
Max Lucado: I believe the Bible tells a story we recognize as true. I don’t just mean it tells an accurate story—though it’s telling that the Bible stands tall even after more than 2,000 years of secular criticism. What I mean is that its account of humanity and the world we live in rings true. Reading the Bible can be like meeting someone you don’t know who, oddly, somehow seems to know you deeply. It’s uncanny. Sometimes when you read the Bible, you find yourself asking, “How does this book know that about me? How does it know that about our world—especially when it was written so long ago?” When you read the Bible, it’s as though it reads you. And it’s my hope that as you dip your toe into the Bible’s story and viewpoint, you’ll find yourself feeling that the Good Book knows more about the world—and about you—than any normal book does.
Q: You say that Jesus promises a “repeat performance.” How will his next appearance differ from the first one in a manger?
Max Lucado: Bethlehem was just the beginning. I call his next appearance, Bethlehem, Act 2. No silent night this time, however. The skies will open, trumpets will blast, and a new kingdom will begin. He’ll empty the tombs and melt the winter of death. He’ll press his thumb against the cheek of humanity and wipe away all tears. “Be gone, sorrow, sickness, wheelchairs, and cancer! Enough of you, screams of fear and nights of horror! Death, you die! Life, you reign!” The manger dares us to believe the best is yet to be. And it could all begin today.
Q: How does the “hassle” of Christ’s birth give us hope today?
Max Lucado: It shows us that no day is accidental or incidental. No acts are random or wasted. Look at the Bethlehem birth. A king ordered a census. Joseph was forced to travel. Mary, as round as a ladybug, bounced on a donkey’s back. The hotel was full. The hour was late. The event was one big hassle. Yet, out of the hassle, hope was born. It still is. I don’t like hassles. But I love Christmas because it reminds us how “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.”

Amen and Amen!