I was thinking of the announcements of that first Christmas some 2,000 years ago.

After Mary was told that she would bear the Christ child, she told her cousin Elizabeth, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1: 46-47).

An angel of the Lord told Joseph, “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20b-21).

The angel told the shepherds in the field, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

There is a common thread in those announcements: our great need of a Savior and God’s provision of the only One who could be that Savior.

I take Him at His word indeed;
“Christ died for sinners”—this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior!
— Dorothy Greenwell, 1873

My prayer for everyone I know is that, if you have not yet done so, you would “in your heart find a need of Him to be your Savior” and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as that Savior. And for those of us who do know Him, may we have some time of quiet reflection, thankfulness, and praise for His unspeakable gift! And may we, like the shepherd, return to our “ordinary lives” “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them” (Luke 2:20).

Merry Christmas to you all! I’ve so enjoyed getting to know new friends though the blogosphere.

(Christmas graphic in this and previous post from Anne’s Place.)