God’s Power in the Christmas Story
We see in the Christmas story God’s power on display. But it might not be the kind of power we instinctively think about. Culturally, we might think that a powerful life is marked by position, privilege, fame, talent, wealth, and affluence. But when Jesus came to earth, he didn’t come with any of that. In fact, on the surface, it appears that Jesus came to earth in weakness.
Was Jesus weak? Not at all! He has always been and will always be all-powerful.
However, Philippians 2:7 says that when Jesus came to earth, he made himself nothing, or he emptied himself. Imagine taking a bucket of water, dumping it out, and shaking out every last drop. That’s what Jesus did with all his glory and power. He shook it all out – every last drop.
As we look at the Christmas story, we see how Jesus entered the world in (what we might say) weakness. His mother, Mary, was an ordinary teenage girl. She might not have even made our top 100 list of candidates to mother the Son of God. And Joseph? He was a poor carpenter who couldn’t afford to buy a lamb to sacrifice at Jesus’ dedication. He could barely afford two young doves for the sacrifice. Jesus was born in small nothing town called Bethlehem. He grew up in a town called Nazareth about which people asked, “Can anything good come from there?” And how about the fact that Mary wrapped him in swaddling cloths and then placed him in a feeding trough for animals in either a barn or a cave instead of a royal palace?
Why would God come to earth this way…in so much weakness?
Here’s what I think. Weakness welcomes the power of God.
Jesus was born in weakness because he came for weak people.
God sent Jesus in weakness so that his power could be put on display. The greater the weakness, the greater the opportunity for God’s power to be seen and recognized. Think about this: If Jesus had been born to a royal family, people would’ve said, “Yeah, look what political power can do.” If Jesus had been born in a noble, wealthy city, people would’ve said, “Look what affluence can do. Right time, right place. That explains it.” If Jesus had been born to a well-educated family, people would’ve said, “Look what prominence can do.” But Jesus was born in weakness, so people can say, “Look what God can do.”
I want to take us over to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church for a moment. Corinth was a city that would’ve looked a lot like our Western culture today. They were all about power, strength, and wealth. In fact, if you were to Google “Corinthian-style architecture,” you would find pictures of huge pillars meant to portray all that. They wanted to be known as a people of power. But Paul wants the Corinthian church to understand that the Christian life is not about self-empowerment; that it’s about God’s power through weakness that leads to effectiveness.
He tells the church that he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him from exalting himself. He pleads with God three times to take it away. But God says to him in 2 Corinthians 12:9…
“My grace is sufficient for you…”
“My grace is all you need. My grace is always enough.”
And then God says…
“…for my power is perfected in weakness.”
And then Paul says…
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
“Boast all the more about my weaknesses”?
I don’t know about you, but I try to hide my weaknesses. I don’t want people to know my insecurities about being good enough, strong enough, or attractive enough. I don’t want people to know about my shortcomings. I want people to see me as strong and powerful. But Paul is saying, “You can’t experience God’s power in your life by keeping up appearances or maintaining your image. You experience God’s power in your life by celebrating your weaknesses. That’s when the power of Christ can work through you.”
Paul then says in verse 10…
So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
In our weakness, we can take pleasure, and we can celebrate because Jesus gives us strength and power that we would never have on our own. And the key to celebrating our weaknesses is this…
• Make much of Jesus and less of me.
Celebrating our weaknesses means making much of Jesus and less of me. It takes both, which is not easy, especially in a world in which it’s all about me and boosting my street cred and social media cred.
So, how can we do this? How can we make much of Jesus and less of me? Let me give you a couple of points here.
1. Don’t measure your worth by what you accomplish.
That’s easier said than done. For me, it’s about input and output. The more I put in, the more I’ll get out. And then I can say, “Look what I’ve done!” Life for me can be all about doing – accomplishing and achieving.
Theologian Henri Nouwen was living in a convalescent home with people who had significant special needs. And he talks about how his time with them made him realize that he was still trying to find his value in his accomplishments rather than in what had been accomplished for him through Jesus. He said…
Living with handicapped people, I realize how success-oriented I am. Living with men and women who cannot compete in the worlds of business, industry, sports, or academics, but for whom dressing, walking, speaking, eating, drinking, and playing are the main accomplishments, is extremely … frustrating for me. I may have come to the theoretical insight that being is more important than doing, but when asked to just be with people who can do very little, I realize how far I am from the realization of that insight.
“Being is more important than doing.” I don’t know about you, but I’m with Henri – I’ve got a long way to go. Sometimes it’s difficult to really believe that our worth is determined by Jesus on the cross, not by all the good deeds I can accomplish. We have this tendency to try to earn it.
Isaiah 64:6 says…
…all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment…
Our worth is our identity in Christ, not in what we can accomplish.
Another reason it’s difficult for us to make less of ourselves is that we’re constantly preoccupied with image maintenance. We’re too concerned about what other people think. So, if we’re gonna make much of Jesus and less of me…
2. Let go of the preoccupation with what others think.
Let go of the thoughts of “What do people think about me?” and “What are people saying about me?” Folks, I’m just gonna tell you I have failed morally. Are you with me? I have failed morally time and time again, but that’s why we celebrate the Gospel. That’s what makes room for God’s grace to be sufficient and his power to be made perfect.
When I get caught up in what other people think about me, it’s because I’m making much of myself. And do you know what that leads to? It leads to getting self-defensive, trying to maintain our social standing, trying to prove our worthiness, and trying to impress people with our accomplishments. But it’s in weakness that you’ll experience God’s power in abundance.
More prayer; less Instagram.
More worship; less entertainment.
More humility; less self-promotion.
More rest; less proving.
More connection; less production.
More Scripture; less screen time.
More generosity; less entitlement.
More grace; less gossip.
More forgiveness; less resentment.
More repentance; less justification.
More Jesus; less me.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.