All tagged birth
On this day, Christmas Eve, we are in great expectation of a tiny baby’s arrival into the lineage of David... the Christ Child, Jesus, Emanuel, the Son of God. He will be born in Bethlehem, and a star will shine bright inside each of us to show the way to where He will be held to His mother’s breast. Are we ready to make the journey to where He will be born into the world; into each of us? Is the anticipation of His coming calling us even now to where Angels will announce Him?
This is the Christmas season and it is well known to be one of hustle, and bustle, as people work hard to fit parties, gift buying, decorating their homes, traveling to be with family, candle light services, choir concerts, and additional worship services into their already busy schedules; not to mention preparing enormous meals for family feasts. In the midst of all this, where has the time been set aside to sit quietly by the manger and look upon the sleeping Christ Child? Where is our solemn time when we contemplate the life of Jesus, and all that lies ahead for this tiny infant as He suckles at His mother’s breast? Where is the hushed time when we listen for the flutter of angel wings as they hover over this Son of God? Where is the holy time at the heart of this divine birth? Where is the peace of Christ, and the rest He gives us, as we worship Him?
Have we truly died with Jesus Christ? Have we died to sin, and found a new and renewed life with Him, or are we still hanging on our cross, and struggling to hold onto the life we were meant to lay down? Frequently believers who have confessed their sins, and been baptized into death with Christ, find themselves holding onto the remnants of their old life, and who they once were. It is hard to face suffering, death, and to let go of that last breath so that we can die to this world and be resurrected with Jesus into the next. So every Christian needs to honestly ask himself... am I truly dead with Christ, resurrected into a new life, or am I continuing to hold tight to a certain season, or vestige, of my old life?
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We remember the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, and seeking a room where there was none available. We recall how Jesus was born there, wrapped in swaddling cloth like a newborn lamb being prepared for sacrifice, and placed in a manger. Then we go to the pasture and listen with the shepherds as they are told of this miracle child, but how do we pray today? Do we pray in His name for the simple things we desire, or like Mary whose soul was known to pray fervently in the Holy Spirit as she anticipated His coming?