The Journey That Changed Everything

Christmas always begins with a journey. Some of us cross miles travelling home, while others journey inward, remembering years past or searching for peace in the present. But the most remarkable journey of all didn’t begin on a highway; it started in Heaven. Before shepherds watched their flocks and before a manger was filled, Love himself stepped down. The road from Heaven to Bethlehem wasn’t paved in comfort or glory. Rather, it was the path of humility, of surrender, of love in motion. And it’s that journey, the one that changed everything, that still invites us to follow.

When Mary held that newborn baby in her arms, wrapped in cloth then laid in a manger, could she have imagined the journey ahead? Could she have known that the tiny fingers grasping hers would one day calm storms with a word? That the child taking his first steps would one day walk on water? Perhaps she knew some of it. The angel had told her this child would be great, that he would be called the Son of the Most High. But knowing something in your mind and experiencing it in your life are two entirely different things. As Mary kissed that infant’s forehead, she was kissing the face of God, but did she truly understand what that meant? The journey that began in Bethlehem wasn’t just Mary’s journey or Jesus’ journey. It was, and still is, our journey.

The Apostle Paul captures something breathtaking in Philippians 2, saying, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness,” (v 6-7). He describes a God who didn’t cling to privileges or comfort. Instead, “He made himself nothing.” The King of Glory became a helpless infant. The Almighty learned to walk, to talk, to work with his hands. This wasn’t a journey upward, but a journey downward. Down from the throne to the manger, and ultimately, to the cross. Why? Paul tells us: to serve, to save, and to show us what love really looks like.

Every time we serve someone who can’t repay us, we’re following in the footsteps that began in Bethlehem. Every time we humble ourselves to meet someone else’s need, we’re living out the downward journey of Christ. This is the journey that changed everything. Not just two thousand years ago, but today. Right now. In us.

When Mary learned she would bear the Messiah, she understood, perhaps before anyone else, that God notices the humble. God draws near to the lowly. God lifts those who make themselves nothing. The sleeping child she held was indeed the Great I Am. But he came as the least of these. He came to show us that the path to true greatness runs through the valley of humility. That real power is found in service. That lasting joy comes from loving without condition. As you celebrate the Christmas season this year, every act of kindness, every moment of compassion, every sacrifice made for another continues the journey.

Christmas arrives each year with its familiar beauty: the carols, the lights, the gathering of loved ones around tables laden with tradition. Yet beneath the warmth and wonder lies a truth so profound it has the power to transform not just a season, but entire lives. As we journey through this Advent season together, it is our prayer that each of you across the Southern Territory would encounter afresh the hope, peace, joy, and love that first broke into our world in a Bethlehem stable and that continue to break into our world through you today.

Lord Jesus, thank you for leaving Heaven’s glory to walk among us. Help us to have your mindset: to value others above ourselves and to love without condition. May we continue the journey that began in Bethlehem, bringing your light to a world still in need of hope. Amen.