I've been thinking lately about the manger and the cross, and the inability to separate the two. Jesus' birth was necessary to begin the salvation process for all mankind, and the cross was imperative to finalize redemption. I was thinking if God knew that when he sent Jesus as a baby, that he would suffer a brutal death as a man. Considering that God is omniscient, I have to believe that He was aware of what the future held for his own son. Yet God sent Jesus anyway. He sent Jesus as a baby knowing that Jesus, as a man, would suffer.
That brings me to my thoughts as a parent myself. In all honesty, I do not love anyone enough to sacrifice my child for their behalf. Call me selfish, but Parker and Kent are everything to me. It makes me ponder the magnitude of God's love. He wanted me to live, so he sent his son to die in my place. I cannot fathom the sacrifice that God made in sending Jesus as a baby.
Often times the cross is referred to as a symbol of sacrifice, but as a parent I now understand that the manger signifies that as well.
We don't normally associate John 3:16 with the holiday festivities, but I am convinced that it is the crux of the Christmas message.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son. Whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life."
4 comments:
I feel the same...I cannot imagine giving up my sons for anyone. That kind of love is a love only God could have. I've never thought about it in that way...thanks for sharing that. It makes me realize how strong God's love is for us.
Once I become a mom, it was so much more evident how hard God's sacrifice must have been. It is almost impossible to even imagine. We watched The Nativity Story and that also opened my eyes to how hard the entire process was also for Mary. It is just an amazing story and God's love is bigger and deeper than our minds can even fathom.
Amen, Thank you God
Ever since I had Wyatt I remembered the story of Abraham and how God asked him to sacrifice his son. I thought "No way would I ever do that" But God was testing him to see just how obedient Abraham was. God spared his son because Abe was going to go through with it. What a gracious Lord we serve, he wouldn't make his people sacrifice their children, but he would sacrifice his own son.
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