GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTMAS

 

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTMAS

 

Luke 2:1-6

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

 

          Are you guided by principles? Do you know what a principle is? One very good definition is that a principle is a “fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning:”

 

          Mary and Joseph were both guided by principles. They both believed in purity before marriage. This belief caused Mary to ask just how she might become pregnant since she had “known not a man.” This same belief caused Joseph to consider a secret divorce from the young woman he loved.

 

          Both Mary and Joseph believed in the sovereignty of God, that God’s will and purposes sometimes overruled the natural order of things. This is what prompted Mary to say to the angel “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”  Luke 1:38 This is also what caused Joseph to obey the command of the angel to proceed with the marriage even though he knew it would be troublesome.

 

          Principles, beliefs, kept Joseph and Mary from rebelling against the taxing and the travel and the travail. They yielded to the difficulty and refused to yield to their own demand for comfort. They made the trip, and they made history because they both had firmly held beliefs.

 

          You DO have principles, even though you may not be fully aware of them. Your actions or inactions are prompted either by firmly held beliefs, or loosely held commitments. For many years I have been what is known as a “Fundamentalist.” This is a term that today, unfortunately, is associated with terrorists, but originally it was a praiseworthy designation.

 

Matt 6:24

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

 

Dear Lord, let me endure whatever discomfort accompanies doing right. AMEN