Today, I Celebrate the Birth of a Babe

Today, I celebrate the birth of a babe.  It was a long time ago when an angel appeared to a teenage girl, who was engaged to be married.  I imagine it was startling enough when the angel appeared, then he broke the news.  “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:30-33)  

I can imagine the thoughts going through her head.  "How could this happen?  Why would he choose me?  What will people think?  What will Joseph do when he finds out?"  As expected, Joseph was not pleased and no longer wanted to marry Mary.  An angel came to him and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21).

This beautiful babe was sent for me.  God knew I could never meet his standards.  He knew I would make choices that were not honoring to him.  He knew I would fail.  However, God loved me so much that he didn't want to lose me.  He had to make a way for me to live with him forever.

He sent a perfect babe to live on earth to live like we live, face the decisions we face, be tempted like we are tempted and meet the challenges we meet.  This babe made each decision without fault, avoided all temptation and met each challenge without waiver.  He honored God every day of his 30 something year life.   He did this for me.  When he died, he took on the burden of all my mistakes and all my bad choices.  He suffered a very painful death for me and he did it with very strong shoulders.

He did this for you too!  God knows and loves each of us and he wants us to know him.  God has an amazing place prepared for us so that we can join him and he made this possible by sending this babe to live a perfect life and to die so that we could live.  God loves us all!  He just needs us to believe in him and to admit to our sins.  The babe carried the burden for us all.