Fresh Wonder

“She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him
in cloths and placed him in a manger.”
Luke 2:7 (NIV)

Christmas is often best seen through the eyes of children. Jesus himself welcomed little children and refused his disciples’ request to send them away. Instead he chose the children as a visual teaching tool saying, “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:15-17) That is one of the fundamental principles in the upside-down Kingdom of God.

Several years ago our two young granddaughters were playing with our toy Christmas train and happily filling the railroad cars with items from a Precious Moments toddler nativity set. Because the toy train was running, the girls could only add one item each time the train rounded. A few turns later, the train cars were full of coal, cargo, and an assortment of shepherds, angels, and wise men. Four-year old Julia happily surveyed her toy kingdom and was content to just watch the train making its circles. Suddenly, however, two-year old Caroline's cry broke through over the carousel music and loud train whistle.

"Hey, don't forget Baby Jesus!" Caroline exclaimed as she gently cradled him in her hands. And with those words, Christmas came.

Tim Keller in his excellent book Hidden Christmas writes,
“When God showed up in Jesus Christ, he wasn’t a pillar of fire, nor a tornado, but a baby. He came as a baby not to bring judgment, but to bear it, to pay the penalty for our sins, to take away the barrier between humanity and God so we can be together. Jesus is God with us. The Incarnation happened to bring God near so he can be with us and we with him. Jesus literally moved heaven and earth so we could be with him.”

C. S. Lewis once described the Incarnation even more succinctly: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”

Wherever you are today, no matter your list- errands, gifts, shopping, to-do, travel, or menu- don’t forget Baby Jesus! Rejoice to hear the Christmas Story one more time. Pray for fresh wonder at the miracle of Christmas with each reading of Matthew 1 or Luke 2. The miracle and wonder of Christmas is Immanuel: God is with us!
Merry Christmas!