Have you ever thought about the Word of God becoming flesh in the baby Jesus? He is the very Word by which all things were created. As the Word, He existed before time began. Pause a moment and let that sink in. The one we celebrate on Christmas day existed before time.
We celebrate Him coming into His creation as a babe. We celebrate the Son of God, the One who created the entire universe stepping out of heaven and into a broken world. A world that fell when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit by falling to the temptation of Satan.
And think about the situation of the world in which Jesus stepped. He didn’t live in a perfect town with perfect people. He lived in a nation that had been conquered several times, most recently by the Romans. He lived in a time when it was dangerous to travel the roads alone. Thieves and cutthroats hid in ambush of an easy target. The religious leaders had been corrupted by power. The Jewish people were subservient to the Romans.
Joseph was a construction worker who scratched out a living. When Jesus was born, Mary was still a young girl, likely between the ages of 12 and 14. Both of them were righteous, as recorded in Matthew and Luke. So, they would have loved Jesus and educated as well as they could in the ways of God.
Think about that for just a moment. Jesus, God himself, being taught by humans about God. Sounds a little odd, doesn’t it? Yet, Jesus grew up as a human boy, just as we grow up. His body and mind were human. His spirit was God. These are mysteries to ponder. But do not allow any of the mysteries keep you from celebrating the birth of Jesus. His birth was the first step toward Him becoming our Savior. Certainly, something to celebrate.
I pray we all celebrate the birth of Jesus. I pray we see Jesus for who He is, God in human form. I pray each one of us understand that Jesus did not have the perfect childhood nor grow up in a perfect situation. Know Jesus for who He is. Know there are mysteries of God you will not understand. Celebrate the birth of Jesus. Celebrate your Savior.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
Marty Pressey 