Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” Luke 1:30-32
If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE Christmas movies. Not those cheesy Hallmark movies (though you might find me sneaking in a few), but the classics, especially the kid’s movies. Once Thanksgiving break hits we have all of The Santa Claus movies on repeat with both Home Alone movies thrown in. I absolutely LOVE It’s a Wonderful Life even still in black and white, and now we’ve even thrown in The Star.
Over the past week, I have watched The Star twice. There’s just something about the real story of Christmas. It pulls at my heart strings every time I watch it, and I’ll be sitting there in a jumble of tears, blowing my nose. Everybody kind of giggles at me because after all, it’s just a cartoon, right?
Oh, but it’s so much more, and God has been using that simple, humorous cartoon to talk to me in a big way. He whispered to me, “I love you THAT much.” And He meant He loved me that much to come to earth as a baby. A baby. A helpless, innocent little baby.
If you haven’t been around babies very much, they can’t do anything on their own, for several years. My two year old still thinks he’s incapable of putting his cup on the table by himself. He has no desire to potty train. He can’t bathe himself or clothe himself. He’s completely dependent on my husband and me. He can’t yet control his emotions or feelings because he can’t express himself fully in words. He becomes frustrated when we don’t understand and although is learning some independence, he is still helpless.
And Jesus humbled Himself to come to earth as a baby. The almighty Son of God became a helpless baby for us. Let that sink in for a moment. If you’re like me, you’ve heard this story a thousand times, but have you ever really thought about what an amazing sacrifice this was?
Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Now, I’m not taking away from Christ’s death at all, but I think we’re so easy to skip over the sacrifice of His birth. He gave up the glory of Heaven to come to this earth. He didn’t just come down as the glorious King that He is. He came as a baby.
So as I sat there watching The Star, I thanked Him for His sacrifice. Through my tears, I thanked Him for humbling Himself enough to come as a helpless baby. By coming to earth helpless and fully human, He walked through all the things we have. He grew up with brothers, had earthly parents, learned a skill from His earthly father, was tempted. He knows what it’s like to walk this earth. He knows what it’s like to be ridiculed and persecuted.
Thank you, Jesus, for Your sacrifice. You could have come to earth in so many different ways, but You chose the most humbling way of all, a baby.
Ribbons and Lace 