By Steve Grusendorf

Like you, over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of sitting in my local church and listening to sermons surrounding the Christmas story. Growing up in the church, I’m accustomed to hearing such messages at this time of year—messages about the faithfulness of Mary, the righteousness of Joseph, the shock of the shepherds, and most importantly, the birth of our Savior. But this year, born from these familiar stories, the Lord has given me a fresh insight about the deeper life sourced in none other than the parents of the Christ Child.

Reflecting on a topic like sanctification or the deeper life might seem a little strange around Christmastime, but it shouldn’t be. The words of that old Christmas hymn remind us yearly that as the world had long lay in sin and error pining, Jesus appeared, making that first Christmas a holy night. Christ’s birth was the initiation of a series of events that would ultimately lead to the salvation of humankind, opening up the opportunity for us to be restored into a relationship with our holy Heavenly Father. And this could only happen if we were holy too. That infant in the manager came to seek, save, and sanctify the lost.

The Christmas story reads as the first chapter in the narrative of Jesus restoring holiness to humanity. In it, we find two simple yet profound truths about what it means to live the deeper life, a holy and surrendered life in Christ.

Let It Be: The Passive Nature of the Deeper Life

Mary, the mother of Jesus, provides us with one of the simplest and most profound demonstrations of faith when she responds to the angel’s news of her being with child: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

You know the story. Mary’s life was interrupted by divine plans. She heard the news, asked how it could be, and then accepted God’s word as fact. In accepting the news of her pregnancy, Mary had to immediately let go of control. Whatever plans she had for her life had to be immediately replaced with a duty God gave her. She had a divine calling to care for and raise the Messiah.

In one single sentence, Mary forever demonstrated that surrender is the doorway into the deeper life. Mary irrevocably surrendered her life and plans to God’s will. From the moment she did, her life was different. She was and would forever remain the mother of Christ.

While Mary is the only human in history who will experience a virgin birth, the call of Christ today, in 2024, carries the same demands for surrender. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Mary had refused the word of God? Speculation aside, we know one thing for sure—she would not have lived a surrendered life. Mary’s obedience teaches us that surrender is necessary for anyone who desires to live a deeper life. We can’t have more of Christ if we are unwilling to surrender our plans, desires, and lives to His will for us.

The entrance into the deeper life is marked by surrender, not effort. Mary did not need to prove herself worthy of the call God had placed on her, and we do not need to prove ourselves worthy of a deeper relationship with Christ. In His grace, God selected Mary for the task. Christ invites us into a deeper and more intimate relationship with Himself in His grace; yet for each of us, from Mary all the way up to today, the invitation of God is only accepted through surrender.

The first lesson that Christmas teaches us about the deeper life is that surrender is the first step taken by those living the deeper life.

He Named Him: The Active Nature of the Deeper Life

Joseph, Jesus’ “stepdad,” also provides us with a simple and profound demonstration of faith when he named the baby born to Mary. He, too, was visited by an angel who told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. The angel also told Joseph to name Mary’s baby Jesus.

As a dad, I can remember how excited I was to name my children. There is something special in naming a new life that has come into the world, and much thought and care goes into that process. I can imagine Joseph had plans and ideas for naming the first son who was to be born to him. But in a simple act of obedience, we are told in Matthew 1:25 that “Joseph called his name Jesus.”

In one single act, Joseph demonstrated that obedience is the substance of the deeper life. Joseph took on the responsibility of raising the Son of God. As God commanded, he gave Mary’s son the name Jesus. He demonstrated his faith through this act of obedience.

Joseph’s life was also changed forever. His plans for a normal family were disrupted. Soon after the birth of Jesus, we see him fleeing with his family to Egypt. Again, we see Joseph obeying God’s commands.

The substance of the deeper life is obedience marked by trust. All along the way, God informed Joseph of what was next. Joseph’s obedience was not merely human effort but faith-filled trust in God’s leadership. Today, we live the deeper life in the same way—it is not the result of the sweat of our brow but of our choice to continually act on the word and direction of Christ.

Obedience is what follows the Word of God, not what attracts it. Jesus is not looking to place special favors on those who demonstrate they can do great things for Him. Instead, Jesus speaks to us, inviting us to trust that He will go before us and make our paths straight as we obey.

The second lesson that the Christmas story teaches us about the deeper life is that obedience is the substance of the one living such.

A Holy Night

Jesus Christ was born to be our sanctifying Savior. He came to save us from our sins and bring us back into a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can experience God’s peace because, in Christ, we are made holy. Christmas is indeed a holy night.

My prayer for us all is that we would come to realize, as did Mary and Joseph, that this baby born in Bethlehem completely changes the trajectory of our lives. Transformation is the only possible outcome of a surrendered and obedient life. Mary so sweetly reminds us that surrender is the doorway to deeper blessing, while Joseph quietly reminds us that the best evidence of Christ’s presence in our lives is simple obedience. May we all learn the same lesson Mary and Joseph did so many years ago.

When we step into the deeper life, we are never the same.