The Last Character of Christmas
My grandmother loved to make pottery. And with 8 children and 23 grandchildren she was busy making things all year long so that she could give each person a gift that she had made. Sometimes it was an ornament other times it was a place card holder or a clay package filled with sweet treats.
As each of her grandchildren married she would make them a nativity set. First with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, the second year the shepherds would be added and finally the wise men would complete the set. This has been a prized possession of mine through the years, so when it was damaged in one of the moves that we made, I was disappointed and did my best to put the pieces back together and hide the flaws.
Mary’s nose was chipped, the shepherd’s leg was gashed, and the wise man’s base was shattered. Every piece of the crèche was broken in some way—every piece except for one, baby Jesus was perfect. It’s that way with all of humanity; we are all imperfect...everyone except Jesus, God in the flesh.
Today as we reflect on the last character of Christmas, we look at Jesus. Did you ever stop to think of what it cost Jesus to come to earth as a baby? He had lived in heaven with His Father, united as one God. He had been worshipped for the ages by the angels. He had a seat of honor at the right hand of God. He spoke and the world had come into being. Yet He chose to be obedient to His Father, because He knew that it was the only way for us to be saved and therefore to be able to experience joy and peace.
Joy, salvation and peace--those are the reasons He was wiling to give up His position and take on the lowly form of a man.
Jesus didn’t have to come to earth, but out of love for His created beings, He did it for you and for me. His gift was the greatest gift ever given or received. It costs us nothing, but it cost Him everything. The gift can be opened and enjoyed or it can remain wrapped and never experienced. Which will you choose?
What was it like for God to be a baby? What kind of childhood did He experience? How were His teenage years? Was He ever lonely or discouraged as a young adult working as a carpenter? In His ministry did He ever feel defeated? On the cross did He feel despair? I think He had all of the experiences and emotions that we feel today. That’s how He can relate to us and how we can relate to Him. That’s how He knows what to pray for us. That’s how He can understand our struggles.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus made the choice to be obedient to the Father’s will, so that we can have His righteousness covering our sinfulness. It’s nothing we do, but only the grace and mercy shown to us by His selfless act.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
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