Danny Fourie

… and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.   Luke 2:18

There are many things that we just take for granted. The day when load shedding happens in your neighbourhood or the water in your area is cut off, we realize how accustomed we have become to a switch and a tap. In fact, it is actually something special. Turn on the tap and there's water; put the switch on and there is light or the stove is hot. Put your plastic card in the ATM and who is still amazed when it gives you banknotes? Skype with your children abroad or get on a plane and within two hours you can fly between Cape Town and Johannesburg and fly back home tonight. Who among us are still amazed by these wonderful inventions of our time?

The lack of awe unfortunately also concerns our spiritual life. Most of us have more than one Bible, and many of us are part of faith communities. We often hear that God loves us – to the extent that he even became one of us by sending his Son Jesus Christ to us. But who still gets excited about this and filled with awe?

I envy those people of the Christmas story. They were stunned. “How can such a thing be?” they said. For you and me the Christmas story has become commonplace – just like to open a tap and to turn on a switch.

The birth of Jesus was really incredible. By that God showed that he cares much more for us than we realize. And that he intended much more to reach out to us than we ever thought possible.

That is why people in the Gospel of Luke were so surprised, amazed. That God could act in this way. They did not think it possible, that it would happen – that God would really be born as a human being in order to come so close to us.

Prayer: Lord, help me to look at you with fresh eyes and an unspoiled heart. Help me to (re)discover the depth of your love. Amen