Christmas reminds us who the stable people are in our lives and who are not.
The first Christmas defines stability, not with theories, but with people.
Step into the scene. The world is tense, turbulent, and uncertain. Yet the characters surrounding Jesus’ birth move forward with steady resolve.
- A young couple is traveling under pressure.
- Shepherds are startled awake in the night.
- Wise men are navigating a long and risky journey.
Every one of them shows surprising steadiness amid chaos.
It’s not that different from our moment in history.
Never have so many been so wealthy, and never have so many felt so fragile and anxious.
But the first Christmas still speaks.
Its ordinary participants quietly offer us ingredients for a more stable life.
Three traits of stable people
What did the visitors, shepherds, wise men, and the old couple at the temple have in common?
They loved God and each other.
They trusted God and each other.
And they carried a quiet, steady hope that showed up in how they lived.
What a tripod for a stable life.
- Faith
- Hope
- Love
Paul brought these three together in 1 Corinthians 13, the passage you hear at almost every wedding.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Stable people cling to God’s love, and then God fills them with purpose, identity, and strength.
Stable is a quality, not a feeling
When you look at Mary and Joseph, you see those three qualities showing up in real time: love, faith, and hope.
And they were not living in a calm or orderly world. Their world was politically chaotic, occupied by Rome, struggling with poverty, and ruled by a man so insecure that he killed babies to protect his throne. That is about as unstable as it gets.
Right in the middle of all that, Mary had to trust Joseph. Joseph had to trust Mary. They both had to believe that God was somehow in this sudden disruption of their lives, guiding them through an upheaval they never asked for and could not fully understand. And they needed love to hold steady under all that uncertainty and pressure.
But when I think about love, faith, and hope, I am not thinking about emotions. Faith is not a feeling. Love is not a spine-tingling moment. Hope is not nervous hand-wringing. These are not moods. They are actions. They are attitudes. They are choices we practice every day, no matter how we feel in the moment.
In short, a stable life is shaped by love, faith, and hope, especially love. And from that foundation flows other essential qualities in stable people.
- Growth
- Movement
- Adjustment
They stay open to change and keep becoming who God is shaping them to be.
Stability and movement
There is a difference between stable and stationary.
The first Christmas attendees were not stationary. They travelled.
Everyone was moving.
They all came from somewhere, including Jesus himself.
Here is God coming in an entirely new mode, taking on the form of a human being. God himself is in motion, as he always is, moving into our world where we live.
God embraces change, humbles himself, and arrives as a servant to the…
- sick
- lonely
- abused
- suffering
Not only did they come from somewhere, but they all went. No one stayed.
- Mary, Joseph, and Jesus went to Egypt.
- Wise men went back home.
- Shepherds returned to their fields.
Everybody kept moving, moving outside of self-imposed restrictions.
Unstable people
Folks consumed primarily with themselves are unstable people. They are lonely and despairing.
But I’ve never met a depressed giver. At least, I don’t know any. I see a lot of unhappy getters.
Wealth, in the Bible, is attributed to giving, growing, and expanding people, people who are willing to take risks for God and willing to give so that others might have life.
Jesus said to lose your life, and you’ll find it.
Try to find your life for your sake, and you’ll lose it.
A new path ahead
Like the first Christmas, God is working in the world through people who are willing to move and to go.
Stable people are loving people, growing people, and they are giving people.
Wise men came and brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
What new steps are you taking to grow in the year ahead?