Of His Kingdom There Will Be No End

How many times have you said, “there’s just no end to this?”

Paperwork, bills, middle of the night feedings, late at night work shifts, or maybe it’s simply the dirty pile of dishes in the sink. Predictably, the words reflect too much of one thing and not enough of another, meshed with a pinch of impatience, and at least in my world, sprinkled with a whine.

It must have been much the same for God’s chosen people as year built upon year of waiting for the promised Messiah. Too much war. Too much death. Too much broken.

They longed for the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham, Jacob and David. They looked for a kingdom that brought relief from their experience of “there’s just no end to this.”

A lasting covenant had been promised. A Ruler without end was prophesied. And for generation after generation hope kindled and died. Belief reignited and extinguished. Passion for God exploded then waned again.

Until one day an angel named Gabriel stood before a young unmarried woman.

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31 ESV)

Gabriel’s words spoke into a 400-year silence. Centuries had passed void of God’s voice to His people. The angel Gabriel announced that Mary, a virgin engaged to be married to Joseph, would bear the Son of the Highest. 

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33 ESV)

A kingdom without end.

After so many years, so many prophecies, God spoke again in a little town called Nazareth. The words harkened back to garden, to a broken world, a promised Redeemer, and gave new hope. A Savior named Jesus would come. Everything was about to change. The Messiah would reign.

The words were weighty and preposterous for a virgin to receive, but perhaps for Mary the most incredible-impossible part was that it was happening to her.

“And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38 ESV)

Mary’s humility is evident in her acceptance and again in her praise as she exalted God while acknowledging her own need of a Savior.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47 ESV)

God didn’t choose a famous person or city. His didn’t regard titles or a list of accomplishments to usher in God’s covenant promises. His birth announcement came to lowly shepherds watching their sheep. The God-Man Jesus, sheltered in a stall, slept in a feeding trough. 

I don’t know if Abraham, Jacob, or David pictured the Messiah’s eternal kingdom with such humble beginnings.

Out of all the women who had ever lived, He singled out a young girl named Mary to birth the Infinite Who Himself chose the humility of finite.

God’s arc of all of time, its beginning to its end, regards each life as precious and with purposeful plan.   

Christmas is about “no end.” It’s about something eternal. Forever-life-changing.

If you find there no end to the preparations and the lists, if impatience and its whiny voice meshes into the season, go back to your Bible and sit awhile in the little town of Nazareth.Christmas is about “no end.” It’s about something eternal. Forever-life-changing Share on X

Go back to the gift of “no end” in the humble beginnings of the Christ Child.   

For He longs to sit on the throne of our lives, to rule in our hearts. God uses the simple and lowly to build His eternal kingdom. And He invites our response, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38 ESV)

*Feature Photo by Philip Schroeder