Enough

by Marcia Lee Laycock
It was a small cast of characters, but it was enough.

There was an ordinary man, a carpenter, forced to take his very pregnant young wife on a long journey just when she was about to give birth. The imposed census had made refugees out of everyone in their country so the small town was overflowing with weary travellers. Their accommodations that night were rough but the heat from the animals would keep them warm and it would be enough.

There were the shepherds, hunkered down in the fields with the bleating of their sheep around them. Perhaps they had a small fire going - enough to keep the chill of the night at bay. And then there was that angel. Just one, but it was enough to make those shepherds shake with fear until he told them why he was there – to tell them “tidings of great joy.” And then, just to emphasize the point, a “great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God ...” (Luke 2:13). That was enough to make those shepherds want to find out if what the angel had told them was really true. It was easy to find the place – the light of that unusually bright star was enough.

It was enough too, for those strangers who came, later. Rich men, they were, with enough resources to give expensive gifts to a small baby found in very humble circumstances. Perhaps they wondered if they really should, but seeing that star stop in that specific place was enough of a sign for them. They laid the gifts by the manger and worshiped the tiny king wrapped in swaddling cloths. The expensive gifts would be enough to carry him and his family to safety in Egypt.

Yes, it was a small cast of ordinary characters playing out the greatest drama ever known to mankind that clear night in Bethlehem. Did they know He would be enough? Did they know that His birth would become so renowned it would be enough for men to make it the pivot of history? Did they know that when he had grown into a man just a touch from his hands would be enough to make blind men see? Did they know that the words from His mouth would be enough to calm a raging sea and raise the dead? Did they understand that He was the One whose death would be enough to wipe their sins away, enough to cause the gates of heaven to be opened and the curtain to the holy of holies ripped in two?

Perhaps they did not completely understand, but the light of the world had come and yes, those men would learn, as millions more beyond them through the centuries, that Jesus is enough.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government wil be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of this government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6). 
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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has two devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

 Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded on Smashwords or on Amazon. It is also now available in Journal format on Amazon. 

 Her most recent release is the first book in a fantasy series, The Ambassadors

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