This year is different for me from any other Christmas
because I cannot hear Silent Night
without crying. I never had this happen any Christmas before. I believe it is
because I have a renewed appreciation for what actually happened on that night
so long ago.
The sheer enormity of what the Son of God submitted
Himself to in becoming human, God in the flesh, is startling! I have read that
the birthing process is very harrowing for an infant. The long and torturous
journey from the relative comfort of the womb and through the birth canal is
uncomfortable, painful and dangerous for the child. And Jesus submitted to
being clothed in helpless flesh, dependent on His mother for nourishment; his
earthly father for provision and protection.
Just what kind of world did the Savior encounter after
He was born? Here was a very young mother with no woman to help her, a husband
with no experience in delivering babies and surroundings less than sterile.
Straw, animal dung and the smell of earth mixed with the damp night air. We are
told He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed to sleep in an animal
feeding trough or manger. Such humble beginnings for the King of glory!
He entered a world where sin reigned supreme and human
effort to change conditions had failed miserably. He came to a planet in
trouble, not because of global warming, but because of the coldness of people’s
hearts toward His Father. Jesus came out of obedience to His Heavenly Father’s
plan. It was Jesus’ commitment to be in submission to the Father’s will from
start to finish that lead Him from the cradle to the cross.
Love like that; obedience of that magnitude is not
something one can consider without responding. So, that is why I cry when I
hear Silent Night now. Love so
wonderful, so unearned overpowers me. I pray you will join me in thanking God
for His eternal plan set into motion from the beginning to make us His own
through Jesus Christ, His only Son.
Doma
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