Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
Luke 2: 7| 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
John 1:10-12| 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
The great drama of the gospels, of Jesus’ life, is in the way the world responds to Him. In some cases his birth experience is
paradigmatic, many people have no room for him. John says “the world did not know him” and even his “own people” did not accept him. They could not see his unique power and authority, since love and truth seem less imposing than position and coercion. They saw his humility as weakness, his compassion as misplaced concern for the marginal and broken, his refusal of ordinary kingship as
misguided and futile.
Yet to all who recognized and received him, trusting their lives to his name, he gave the most extraordinary power—the power to
become children of God.
Do you know anyone who has trouble recognizing Jesus?
