Begin As You Mean to Go On

The beginning of the story of Jesus is important because God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He always begins as he means to go on. This is why it is important that, like Mary, we treasure these things in our hearts.

The Shepherd (Candy cane)

The shepherds were unimportant men. They had a dirty, stinky, lonely, thankless job. They were the last ones to hear important news going on in town.

Luke 2:8 CSB

In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.

Sheep (lamb)

Keeping sheep was an unimportant, unpleasant job. Sheep are stinky, stubborn, and foolish. No one wanted the job.

Luke 2:8 CSB

In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.

Angels (halo)

These are messengers from the creator of the universe. They received this message from the lips of God himself. And they are speaking to shepherds!

Luke 2:9 CSB

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Glory (glow stick)

This is no small thing. This is THE thing. It is the presence of God, something that rarely happens in the history of humanity.

Luke 2:9 CSB

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Cloth (Swaddling cloths)

This new savior is a baby, sleeping in a feeding trough in a crowded house in a tiny, unimportant place. This baby is the lowest of the low.

Luke 2:10–12 CSB

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

Praise (Maracas)

This is an amazing, world-changing thing. God is on the side of the lowly and unimportant! He is one of us, not one of the them!

Luke 2:13–14 CSB

Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

Mary (heart)

Mary considered these things, because she knew that God begins as he means to go on.

Luke 2:16–20 CSB

They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

What does it mean to say that God began as he means to go on?

Jesus isn’t the only king to start out as a helpless baby. So did every other one. They grew up to be kings of violence and power.

Sometimes we think the same thing about Jesus:

Revelation 19:11–16 CSB

Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But this is not the dominant vision of Jesus in Revelation:

Revelation 5:5–10 CSB

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He went and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne. When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.

The Lamb II

Jesus didn’t just start out as a humble, nonthreatening baby. He remained humble, poor and non-violent, and through his humility he brought a new kind of kingdom. That’s what makes him good news.

“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”

~Charles Spurgeon

God began as he meant us to go on. Consider in your heart what it means to serve the Christmas baby, and then act as God began.

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