“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world….And everyone went to his own town to register.” (Luke 2:1,3)

Have you ever thought about how incredible it was that God caused the Roman Emperor to declare a census and thus scramble the whole empire so that a pregnant teen and her “husband” would travel to Bethlehem? Have you ever wondered how, in order to fulfill the prophecy of an unlikely birth in an insignificant community (Micah 5), the political machine of that magnitude was employed? I wonder how Mary and Joseph felt years later, reflecting back on those events. Did they realize all that God did to get them to “O Little Town of Bethlehem”? How would you have felt?

I read the news and hear reports and scan missiological data. I often feel very insignificant and overwhelmed in a world of 6.7 billion people where possibly 2 billion of them are beyond the reach of any local church. The headlines relate events of such political and social and economic magnitude – how can I make a difference? Do you ever feel small and insignificant?

This story in Luke 2 always brings me hope—hope in two dimensions. It brings both hope and humility when I consider all that God moved and orchestrated in order to bring this young couple to Bethlehem. We truly have a BIG God for little people who can move mountains to accomplish His purposes.

Second, in brings some hope and perspective on the events I am encountering. What if I had been living in Bethlehem and had to travel back to Nazareth for this census? It would have felt like big government controlling my life – squeezing taxes and time out of my limited resources. It makes me pause and tone down my complaints when I consider that God was controlling that big government, that He was directing it so that His prophecy could be fulfilled and His purposes carried out (Proverbs 21:1). Doesn’t that same thing happen today? What if I’m one of the other travelers and not at the center of those activities – am I willing to play along?

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree….” A reminder that a great and powerful God acts on behalf of his beloved people, people like you and me. A reminder that what is going on around me right now just might be a life-giving chain of events for someone else.

Merry Christmas.

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