I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't exactly thrilled about starting the book of Numbers today. Don't get me wrong--I love God's Word. But it felt weird to be starting this book...of all days...on Christmas.
But as I started reading it, I thought about the significance of this book. Remember reading about Abraham and Sarah--the older couple who couldn't have kids for YEARS? Take a look at these verses from today's passage:
These are the People of Israel, counted according to their ancestral families.
The total number in the camps,
counted troop by troop,
comes to 603,550.
Following God's command to Moses,
the Levites were not counted in with the rest of Israel.
The People of Israel did everything the way God commanded Moses:
The People of Israel did everything the way God commanded Moses:
They camped under their respective flags;
they marched by tribe with their ancestral families.
Did you catch that? The descendants of the couple who had a very difficult time even conceiving a child totalled...over 603,550!?! Wow. I don't know about you, but to me, that's an inspiring, "look what God can do" moment. What may seem like a small start (Abraham and Sarah had one child together) could turn into an entire nation. When they had Isaac, Abraham and Sarah knew they had a miracle. But they didn't fully comprehend the magnitude of God's promise fulfilled.
As I think about Christmas today, I think about Jesus--a baby born in a manger. It was a miracle. But it probably seemed like a small, humble start (even to Mary and Joseph). But God's promise fulfilled was bigger than a baby in a manger--He saw millions of faces, He knew millions of names, millions of lives that would be changed forever. It started with the promise of a baby. But the magnitude of that promise fulfilled has been multiplied...with time and numbers.
Sometimes we see a fraction of what God does. The fractions are miracles. They're worth celebrating. However, I believe that maybe we should start believing for the increased magnitude that only God can do. We can have faith to celebrate the magnitude before we see it, to hope that it comes--that the seedlings of God's promises fulfilled today could grow things so significant that change many people's lives forever. With God, all things are possible, of course. But I think that many times we don't always see the full picture in a single generation--He uses time and numbers.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today, I hope you remember that power of promises fulfilled. Merry Christmas!
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