Luke 2:40 – And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
It is that time of year when all the earth is preparing to celebrate the holiday of Christmas. We will sing songs about snow, Santa, gifts and even grandma. We will gather together to exchange gifts we have coveted all year long and go into tremendous debt to do so. We will stuff our bellies with all manner of food and drink and sweets that we have labored to prepare. And even though it is supposed to be a celebration of Jesus’ birth, the baby born to be our Savior, He gets very little of the recognition.
Yes, Jesus came into our existence as a newborn child. And we should be extremely grateful for how God orchestrated it all. Because He taught us and showed us how He wanted us to be and live. And we are aware that Easter, the other holiday, is the time that we focus on what Christ did for us. But think on this. It wasn’t a baby that healed the sick and raised the dead. It wasn’t a baby that fed the multitudes or cast out demons. It wasn’t a baby that suffered and bore the sins of the world. It wasn^(’)t a baby who was betrayed, tried and condemned to death. Nor was it a baby that was tortured, crucified, and died for our redemption. And it wasn’t a baby that conquered hell and rose from the dead. It was a man. Our God in the flesh.
Our scripture says He grew and became strong. That the grace of God was upon Him. Where are the songs about that. Why do we keep Him a baby? We don’t refer to ourselves as babies on our birthdays. Why Him? A baby couldn’t do all that Christ did for us because that’s not how God wanted it to be. That is an unforgiveable thought for humanity. We seem to forget all that was endured for our sake because all we sing about is the Christmas child, the baby King, Mary’s baby boy. We give gifts to our favorite people and forget the tremendous gift that was given to us. True, we save that part for the “other” holiday. And, yes, if Christ wasn’t born, the “other” holiday would not even exist. Let’s not just remember the baby. But remember that He grew.
Father, Thank you for the best gift that you gave us, Christ birth. Help us to remember that even though it is a wonderful and joyous time for us, it was, and it was not for our Savior because of what He was born to do.