Are you sleeping?

My thoughts this week are turned towards Christmas – and I’m sure that most of yours are as well. I’m trying to make sure that I get all of the last-minute Christmas shopping done, presents wrapped, and food prepared for our big Christmas Eve dinner with our family. But more than that, I’ve been thinking about the real reason for the season.

The events surrounding that first Christmas night are pretty amazing. If you stop and think about it from the perspective of the characters who actually experienced it, you realize that they must have been pretty much blown away by what happened. But, what about all of the people who were there that night in Bethlehem and missed it all? There were masses of people in Bethlehem that night because of the census – so many that there weren’t any rooms left for Mary and Joseph when they arrived. But, most – if not all – of those people were completely unaware of the miracle that was taking place right in their own backyard.

I heard a great song on the radio this morning called While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns. The chorus says:

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man and stepped into your world today.
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King.
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

How many of us are essentially asleep at the wheel as we navigate through life? Do we see the miracles that are taking place around us every day – because they surely are happening. Or, do we miss the wonder and power of God stepping into our everyday lives because we’ve been lulled into complacency by the world around us…

I’m going to take some time this week to ponder the miracle of Christmas and the many ways that it is still changing the world some 2000 years later. I’ll be sharing more thoughts throughout the week. In the meantime, check out this great song by Casting Crowns.