Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-11; Luke 2:8-12
Simple Things – Continued
Jesus Christ was human. His life was grounded in the good earth the way yours and mine are. The story of His birth is that of a real birth. He was born of a woman, and His mother suffered the pain and agony of childbirth. He was a real baby who whimpered and cried during that first night. He felt more secure in His mother’s arms than anywhere else. He was not as strong and robust as the baby calf in the next manger, and He was more dependent on His parents than was the baby animals most likely surrounding Him.
As any other oldest son, Jesus learned the trade of His father. He became a carpenter. He knew what it was to stand in shavings ankle deep, to have hands calloused by carpenter’s tools. He knew what it was to sweat on a hot summer day and to have his face bronzed by the sun. He knew the weariness of fatigue, the rest of sleep, and the pleasure of eating hot bread from His mother’s oven. He knew what it was to love and to be angry, to laugh and to weep. He knew what it was to walk down into the valley of temptation with the shadows of evil heavy about Him. Also, He came to know what it was to face death, to shrink from it, and to undergo its loneliness and agony.
Aren’t you glad for a Savior who experiences your pain and speaks your language? If He didn’t, how could you know Him and how could He know you?
Yes, the humanity of Jesus is important, and we can recognize Him by His swaddling clothes, His humble earthy beginnings in this world.
Heavenly Things
It is good to know, consoling to know, that Jesus is like us and that He is with us. But what if He is caught in the clutches of our despair and in the helplessness of our weakness? There would be little hope in Him. What if, valiant as He is, He goes down with us in our defeat? He couldn’t save us, could He? He couldn’t be our Savior.
Therefore, we need the star as a mark of identification. We need to see again the child with the light of heaven in His face.
We want Him to be with us in the quicksand that sucks us under, but we want Him to be able to extricate His feet and ours; to be in the same pit with us from which we cannot scramble, but be able to lift Himself and us out; to feel the powerful undertow that pulls us out into the deep waters, but be strong enough to swim back to the shore, carrying us.
Christ is the bringer of light into the darkness and night of our existence. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
The light He brings is not that of the human mind, heart, or imagination. It is light from above, from beyond this world. It is the light of God’s love and truth and the light of God’s presence. He has brought God close, into the midst of our human struggle.
It is little wonder that the birth of Jesus is spoken of as “the dayspring from on high” (Luke 1:78, KJV). He is like a sunrise, a dawn, the first light of a new day.
Therefore, Christmas is not essentially about our lighting Christmas trees or framing our windows, doors, or our houses with light, as beautiful as that may be. It is about light breaking from beyond us which has the power to warm our chilly hearts and to give life in the midst of our death.
A child was born in the humblest of settings and in a short time lived beneath a star and the light of heaven was in His face.
Yes, we need swaddling clothes and a manger on one hand and a star on the other if we are really able to identify Him and know who He is.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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