Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23 NIV)
It doesn’t make sense, does it? Even Mary, who was chosen to be the mother of God’s Son, didn’t get it. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). Little did Mary know that she wouldn’t be the only one asking this question! And then there’s the Christian belief in God becoming man, hence Immanuel, “God with us.” Some things just cannot be explained or understood in human terms no matter how hard we try. But there’s one thing that will help make sense and that is faith. The finite, human mind can’t grasp God’s ways. That is why we’re encouraged to “live by faith, not sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Walking by faith allows us to accept God’s ways because we learn to see them as He does. So the idea of a virgin birth or the Incarnation doesn’t baffle us as much. Not because it’s forced on us and we’re obligated to accept it but because living by faith enables us to believe in the impossible. Christmas is a journey of faith. It started with Mary believing in God’s Word, even if it didn’t make sense at first, and it has continued with every other person willing to place their faith and trust in a little baby who would become the Saviour of the world.
Rising with the Son 