Reflections for Advent Part 2

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 

and shall call his name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14b

Think about it...a virgin birth.  Inconceivable!  Yet that was the sign God chose to give to King Ahaz as his heart melted at the thought of his enemies (some of whom he'd thought he could consider friends) coming against Jerusalem.  God had told Ahaz that He had this.  These mighty looking armies were only playthings in God's eyes.  But Ahaz had a hard time believing that.  "Okay then, ask me for a sign." (Isaiah 7:11 paraphrased by me - don't hold that against me; it seemed good for the drama.)  But Ahaz refused.  So God did it anyway.  "The virgin will conceive..."  It was as though God were saying "Ahaz, if you can't wrap your mind and heart around me coming to your rescue I'm going to one up you.  Try this on for size!"  Of course, this wasn't a game of I can do one better than you.  But it was meant to be shocking.  Who had ever heard of such a thing?!?!?!  

I think sometimes we need to be shocked in order to be able to respond to God.  I know I do.  I will never forget the call I received from my husband, Alan while he was out making a simple run to get some butter for our corn.  In a shaking voice he said, "You need to call Carter's parents and tell them to go to the hospital."  I won't get into too many details here because this is not a post about a shocking life event that changed our whole family forever, but I will say the call sent shock waves through my system.  I could hardly breathe.  Prayer took on an entirely new dimension.  I clung to God in ways I had rarely experienced before.  You see, Carter, my son Andrew's best friend, had climbed onto our van's tiny hood and asked to be driven around the parking lot.  I think you can probably guess the outcome.  (Spoiler alert:  Carter did survive, but that's a God story for another time.)

A virgin birth is shocking!  What's almost as shocking as a virgin conceiving is one who gives birth to God Himself.  John starts his gospel by telling us that the Word was not only with God in the beginning; He was God.  (John 1:1)  The Word, of course, is Jesus.  John goes on to declare his own account of the virgin birth, "and the Word became flesh."  (John 1:14)

This promise God gave to Ahaz would have been not only shocking but comforting as well.  The name to be given to the child was to be Immanuel, which means "God with us."  I can almost hear God's consoling voice speaking into Ahaz's life, "Don't worry.  I'm right here with you."  I hear this echoed in Jesus words to His disciples after His resurrection, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:20b)

God is not ordinary.  We should not expect ordinary outcomes from Him.  We should come to expect some shocking outcomes!  But we can always rest in the reality that even when the hardships come, and they will, we can always move forward because He is always Immanuel, God with us.  No other religion in all of history can boast that!