John Paul Mitchell Systems does $900 million a year in annual business. It was started by a man who sold newspapers and Christmas cards at ten to support his family, and who lived in a foster home as a teen. John Paul DeJoria lived out of his car when he first founded his company, but he lifted himself to a higher level.
Bethlehem was the John Paul DeJoria of her day. She was too small to even be noticed. We read in Micah 5:2:
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
We know the next step in that story, for Jesus lifted Bethlehem to a higher level. He was the ruler that come from that hamlet to become the spiritual ruler of the world. Bethlehem was destined to rise from her obscurity from the beginnings of creation. Her elevation was foretold from the earliest of times.
John 1:1 tells us:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Jesus wasn’t born in that manger. Rather, he traded places on that fateful night. He became flesh, and in doing so, he brought the perfection of heaven to imperfect earth.
John 8:58 tells us:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ ”
Jesus reveals the truth in his own words. We don’t have to depend on some scholar somewhere to work out what the Word means. We don’t have to guess whether Jesus was truly God. By the fact of his existence, he elevated everything around him to a higher level, making it more than it could have been on its own.
When we look at our surroundings, we can’t allow ourselves to become trapped in the newspapers, Christmas cards, and foster homes all around us. We must look higher. We must look to Jesus. He will make us better than we were when he comes into our life.
Our truth is found in Jesus, for he is the one that lifts us out of the condition of our humanity.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.D.27.15b.vp.esv