This weekend has really put me in the Christmas spirit. I love this time of year. It is a time of jubilation and celebration for the birth of our King.
No matter how much I love the giving of gifts, the thrill of shopping for that special item, the happiness in decorating for the holidays, I still have that awe and joy that at this time of year, all those centuries ago, Mary gave birth to her precious baby boy and called his name Jesus.
I love that story. It is one that touches my heart over and over again. Every December, I read the words recorded by Matthew and Luke and listen to Mary Did You Know.
God's plan is amazing when you think about it. Jesus could have just "shown up" on earth as a man. The stories could have just started about Him when He was fully grown. His existance could have been kept quiet until He began His miraculous works.
But God, in His infinite wisdom gave Him to us as a tiny baby boy. Someone we could ooo and ahhh over. A story that would humble us that this poor young lady would be with child when she wasn't much more than a child herself. And this wonderful, loving husband Joseph who married her anyway and watched over her and loved the child as his own.
God gave us this tiny baby because He knew we would fall in love with Him and watch Him grow. We would take pride in what He accomplished and all the miracles He would perform. We would accept Him, simply because we knew of Him from His birth. But most of all, we would grow to love Him. We would feel like He was ours and we were His. We would be horrified by the brutal crucifixion to this beloved Son we had watched grow up.
And then God delivered His final message. This was all done just for us. For you and for me.
So never, ever forget the Reason for the Season.
