Awesome Accounts

Christmas is coming.
Facebook is teeming with a myriad of readings, devotions, and activities to help us navigate advent and the season of Christ's birth celebration.
Stores are filling with decorations. Musical numbers about the Savior and Santa play through the sound systems as people shop. Sparkles and baubles catch our gaze; candies and chocolate tempt our palate.
I went for a stroll with my dad the other day, to gather evergreen boughs, and snipped holly with its red berries from my garden. The boughs and berries filled flower pots now empty of summer annuals.
Paper snowflakes have been cut, with many more to come yet, I'm sure. They will grace our windows as if to inspire the real thing to fall from the sky.

I began to read the book of Luke in the Bible this morning. It is a common reading for this time of year as we are reminded of Jesus' birth, and Luke begins with telling us the story.
Already in the first few verses, I was taken in and the grandness of God enveloped me. And this was before the birth story.

Because God is God. And I stand in awe.

Luke writes his letter beginning with the fact that many other people had recorded events that had taken place. People before them, including "early disciples and other eyewitnesses" (Luke 1:2,NLT), passed on truth stories of what they had seen and experienced. About what God had "done in fulfillment of His promises" (Luke 1:2, NLT).
Can you imagine being one of those eyewitnesses? One of those people who saw Jesus in the flesh. Who met Him, and talked with Him. Who saw or experienced the miracles and the wonder of what this man did and said. Amazing. They must have been so excited. So blown away by what they saw and heard. So they wrote it down. And they told their families and friends. "Many people have written accounts ..." (Luke 1:1, NLT).
For his part, Luke did a conscientious investigation of all the reports and made a "careful summary" (Luke 1:3, NLT) with the purpose of reassurance. "... To reassure you of the truth of all you were taught" (Luke 1:4, NLT).

So the mighty Word struck me.
I think it is easy to forget there was an even bigger picture than we imagine. We read the Bible. We read the accounts of what was going on, what still impacts and affects us today. God is good. God is love. We learn about the disciples, the birth of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus. But we often miss the little verses that refer to the bigger picture. In this case, there were many details and Luke chose to write this careful summary of those details. Can you imagine if we were able to read all the details, all the stories and examples of Jesus' life that people experienced?
Luke's fellow disciple, John, wrote at the end of his letter of the Gospels, "And I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books." (John 21:25, NLT).

WOW.

In this season of gift giving and present opening, there is one gift that, while being the greatest gift ever given, cannot be put in a box.
The wonder of Jesus. The magnificence of God. God Himself. He goes beyond what we can imagine, beyond what we know. We cannot confine Him.

As the bells jingle, as the snowflakes fall, and the lights twinkle, all is surpassed by the Mighty God. The whole world would be filled with the accounts that point to His brilliance.

In the midst of the beauty, warmth, and fun that this time of year radiates, I stand in awe of the One who amazes, the One who shows true love at its brightest, finest moment.

Whew. Wrapping up Luke 1:1-4, I move on and deeper into His story with joy and excitement in this Christmas season.