Twas the Week After Christmas

12/27/2023

Written By: Margie Davis

WHEW! The parties are behind us, the presents are bought and delivered; we’re getting our houses back to pre-Christmas condition and while it’s a little sad, we can breathe!

Did it feel like that to Mary after she had finally given birth to this miracle baby? Was it a relief to not walk around with a swollen belly anymore? Did her mom come over to babysit so she could have a little “me” time after all the craziness of the past 9 months?

No. This beautiful young momma continued in obedience and began her journey to the cross right along with the long-awaited savior she had given birth to.

But first, she had to undergo the purification that all new moms had to go through. The Jewish law stated that any woman who gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days (but can’t enter the temple or touch anything sacred for 33 more days.)

I wonder what that first postpartum week was like. Did they stay in that cold cave/stable, or did someone give them a room? Since she was considered “unclean” who would have given her a bed to sleep in? The pressure on Mary and Joseph must have been tremendous. But this beautiful couple whom God had chosen to raise His son remained obedient. They began the ceremonial purification process as soon as they looked at the face of their Son.

In Luke 2:21-24 says “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”

Mary had given birth to the only sinless person who ever lived as a human and yet even she needed to follow the same process as every other Jewish woman who gave birth. You’d think she could get a pass. But she did not. She couldn’t even enter the temple in Jerusalem to present her son to the Lord for a full 40 days. And when she did, she was required to bring a lamb for sacrifice (or two doves if she couldn’t afford the lamb).

It was a process, and she was there for the whole thing. Her desire was to bring the most pure form of herself into the temple when she presented Jesus to the Lord.

I truly believe that we too have a DESIRE to bring a purer version of ourselves to God, yet our disobedience and unwillingness to give up those things that bring temporary pleasure prevent us from doing the work to bring that about.

I believe even those who aren’t Jesus followers sense that improvement should be made in areas of their lives. It’s the reason New Year’s Resolutions are made.

My word for 2024 is PURIFICATION. And I’m going to allow it to be a process in my life. I’m not going to kid myself and believe that I can stop every bad/sinful habit in my life at the stroke of midnight next year. I’ve been making a list of those things I’d like to clean out of my life, and I will chip away at that list. Will you join me?

Mary’s purification required both time and sacrifice. If we want to be obedient like that 14-year-old mother of Jesus, we must be there for the whole process and recognize that it may take time and it WILL require sacrifice.

Start with one thing. Read every scripture you can find on that stronghold in your life so you can readily combat temptation, WHEN it comes, with the Word of God. You will not just be emptying yourself of the un-pure things, but you will be filling yourself with the Holy word of God!

I used to work at Alpine Electronics and, among other things, I was a certified Solder Technician. The circuit boards for our car stereos would go through a solder bath that was completely enclosed so that no impurities could contaminate them. If the solder line was interrupted between any two components by foreign matter, the radio would not work. If a radio didn’t work, that’s where we looked for the problem. We had to make repairs to that connection!

Our relationship with God is much like that! If we continually allow impurities into our lives our communication with Him is interrupted. And it’s time to make “repairs” to our connection!

Only the blood of Jesus can truly purify us from sin. We must remember that WE are not bringing our purification to God; He is bringing it to US! We bring the SACRIFICE of our old life to Him. When we notice that our daily lives contain more of HIM and less of US, we are on our way to a more pure life!

Here’s to MORE IN 2024!!