It's been a busy month. So busy I haven't been able to find time to write on my blog! But in all the busyness, I was able to still reflect on the meaning of this great Christmas season: The center of the universe, the Baby who came to be the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I was able to go see the movie "The Nativity Story". I honestly didn't know what to expect, and was mostly hoping for a "correct" account of what we know from scripture. What happened was something even more meaningful and personal to me.
What first struck me was the portrail of Mary and Joseph. The story portrayed them as regular people of faith, who believed. More then anything, the precious baby in their arms was, as one of the wise men said, "God in flesh". Their Savior had come to save them from their sins!!! To them, He was the Son of God, their Messiah, the One they had been waiting for, not just a sweet little baby for them to hold and care for.
Because of this, the birth of Jesus Christ was seen in my mind on a whole new level. When you're raised in a Christian home, you're reminded every year that "Jesus is the reason for the season", not Santa, presents or reindeer. But in my heart it had become a story. I knew that the reason we can celebrate Easter is because of what happened at Christmas. But this year, as I sat in a movie theatre, His story was truly revealed to me.
The most precious scene in the movie was just after He had been born. The shepherds and the wise men had just come upon the stable where He was resting. This old shepherd knelt down and stared in awe at the Savior. He reached out to touch Him, then pulled away. Mary then said to him, "He is for all mankind". Then when he reached out and truly touched Him, I felt like it was me reaching out. And suddenly the words of Thomas when he touched Christ's side after He had been raised from the dead came into my mind, "Thee my Lord and my God!".
I did everything physically possible not to weep.
I started to cry. His love was so real to me. It was like He reached down and touched ME in that very moment. This wondrous story of God coming to earth as a baby, was suddenly MY Lord and MY God becoming flesh to save me. I could see the thorns, the nail-pierced hands, the bleeding side when I looked at that baby. His purpose of coming to earth was always known in my mind, but in that moment, I SAW it. I SAW my Savior in a Baby!
I cried all the way home. Some tears were of sorrow, but most were of joy. First, I had a moment of complete despair. I couldn't believe that He had gone through all of that grief of being born and living a human life just so He could die for me. But then, I was reminded that He HAD to do it.
He had to do it for me, for us. He made us for the pleasure of His glory. His dying for me, for you, for the world...There was no greater way to show His love and to bring glory to His name!
Praise Him for His unspeakable gift! God becoming flesh, a Baby born to die! God as a man, defeating death to bring us life!
My Lord and My God!
