I might be the only one who has made this comparison, but the entire Biblical Christmas story reminds me of the word Vizzini kept repeating over and over in “The Princess Bride.”  It is more than inconceivable, it’s unbelievable, miraculous and often turns people off when it comes to believing the reality of God’s greatest gift to us.

The tale of the angels delivering messages to human beings – signs appearing in dreams – angelic voices announcing the birth of the Savior of the world to lowly shepherds in the fields.  All of those things seem unbelievable to our world today.  Skeptics will be all over this story, because it’s beyond our comprehension – super natural – unbelievable and definitely inconceivable.  Instead we look for other reasons to celebrate Christmas.  We look to material gifts – being kind to each other – sharing our wealth or giving something up so someone else can experience joy at this time of year.  At the same time, the holiday itself will pass and people will go right back to their normal behavior.  We’ll see tempers flair, depression set in, hopelessmess filling empty hearts and cupboards.  The homeless will remain homeless.  The addicts will return to their means of numbing their lives.  The broken relationships will crack even further.  All the hopes and dreams of all the earth, will again be usurped by war, rumor of wars, dissent, dirty politics and nothing changes.

How about we look at these miracles of Christmas as not only rich blessings bestowed on us by God, the Father, but granted with unconditional love and grace?  You may have no gifts under the tree.  There may be no tree at all.  Your credit card debt is through the roof.  Your family can’t gather because of a plague that has crippled many.  A loved one will not be in attendance.  You’ve lost your job.  You have no hope for the future.

The truth of the inconceivable is that it really is the perfect setting for this event. It was the perfect time as well.  God chose to take on human flesh (Inconceivable,) to be born of a virgin (are you kidding me?)  He would have no place to rest his head.  (Impossible.) He would be called a man of sorrows.  (Unbelievable.) He would miraculously heal the deaf, blind and lame. (Remarkable.) He would attend to the needs of the poor, the needy, the shunned and the scum of society. (Beyond belief.) He would take on the life of a servant to others, even though He was the King of all of it. (Impressive!)  He would be praised as the Messiah and one week later be sent to His death and crucifixion. He suffered a torturous death. (An innocent unblemished lamb.)  He rose from death on the third day and conquered death and sin.  (Amazing!) Because of this great gift – of God coming to live among us – to live a sinless life – to gife His life for us – we will become heirs of eternal life in heaven.  (Astounding!)

None of these facts make sense to our logical minds.  Especially when we can’t see the so-called blessings everyone is talking about.  But we didn’t deserve any of this.  It just proves more and more how much God loves us.  He was willing to give up everything for our salvation. The blessings we reap from that are also hard to fathom.  We sometimes have to search for them, but they are there.

Sure the Bible is filled with stories that seem impossible, but those “stories” are truth, because they were written by God Himself.  He took ordinary people, from typical walks of life and did extraordinary things through them.  The blessing of Christmas is inconceivable.  It’s also the greatest gift we can receive in this life.  Don’t take it for granted!

MERRY INCONCEIVABLE CHRISTMAS!