“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” – Luke 1:34

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 24, 2013): Luke 1

How often do you talk about someday? It is so easy and pervasive. Someday – when we get our life together – we will …  I have a lot of things on my Someday list. Someday I want to write a novel – or maybe a book on worship. I have a great idea for a musical that I want to work on. And there is the more mundane. Someday I am really going to give my garage a good cleaning – or put away all the items that I moved out of my office recently. Someday.

And I add items to the list easily. When I discuss projects with the people I minister with – often the projects get added to the someday pile. I mean – you don’t expect that this is something that is going to happen now?

Maybe that is what makes this verse a little surprising. The angel comes to Mary with this great message – you are going to become pregnant and the child that you will have will be the Messiah. And it might have been natural for Mary to add that little message to the someday pile. I mean – she knew that someday she would become pregnant. She was engaged to Joseph and they had every intention of bringing up a family. And now the angel was saying that one of her children would be the Messiah – someday.

But Mary didn’t hear the angel that way. She didn’t hear someday – she heard now. And now it was impossible because she was a virgin. But what Mary hears was exactly the message that the angel had intended to convey to her. This is not about someday – it is about now.

Christmas always is. This isn’t about adding something to your someday list. Jesus stepped down from heaven into our now. He didn’t come for your someday – his sacrifice was to impact who you are right now. He came to change this world for the better – now. This isn’t a pie in the sky, someday thing. It is now!

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Christ. Make sure that Christmas doesn’t impact your someday – let it impact your now.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Luke 2

This post was originally published on December 24, 2009

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Four Corners" from the series "Christ and Culture" is now available on the VantagePoint website. You can find it here.