When God invites you into his story

Zechariah, Elizabeth, May, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, King Herod, chief priests, scribes, the people living in Bethlehem, rich, poor, powerful, insignificant, educated, not learned, men, women, Jews, gentiles, they all got an invitation to be part of God’s story of redemption. You and I are invited as well.They didn’t all handle it the same. Most were afraid or troubled, many were apathetic, a few were curious, and some had their doubts. The problem is we are busy writing our own story and when God invites us into his story it feels like an invasion, an interruption. Stepping into God’s story requires trusting him beyond our comfort level, it cannot be done without submission to his will. That’s why most declined the invitation then, and most still decline the invitation today.We are all born into a story, maybe you were welcomed, maybe you were a surprise, maybe you were an inconvenience. Maybe you were born into a beautiful story, but maybe it was a lousy one, a terrible one, or just a boring one. It can be really tough to get out of story you don’t want to be in. Some of us have been sucked into stories, gotten into stories one way or another but really wish we hadn’t. You can get trapped in a story. That’s why we so like, or at least dream of writing our own story. We yearn to be free to write our own story.Can you imagine the story an engaged couple dreams of. I bet you it includes lots of hope, lots of happiness. Why did Mary and Joseph agree to join God’s story? It changed the whole scenario. It created more stress not less, more hardship not less, more challenges, not less. But it also gave their lives significance beyond anything they could write, and it made them part of more than a short story, it made them part of God’s eternal story of redemption.No one who has taken up God up on his invitation to join his story has ever regretted it. God knows how to “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28 (NASB). The regrets do not come with God but by excluding God, the regrets are with those whose hubris has them choose their own story over God’s, regardless of how remarkable their story might be. Our stories never end well, they all end in death, even if it is noble death. God’s story ends in life, even if we die. You and I cannot write that story as much as we might like to. In and through Jesus Christ God has invited you and me to join his story. What is your response? "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” John 3:16-17 (NASB).Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Love you, Pastor Hans