Vibrant Lives

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspiration Corner

Who was that Baby...

12/4/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to December and the time in which Christians celebrate the Advent season, the weeks that precedes Christmas Eve. During the next four weeks, we wait with anticipation for the baby Jesus to be born in a manger surrounded by animals, with a bright star in the sky marking the spot of the holy birth. The well-known story continues with angels singing hosanna to the shepherds as they announce the Christ child’ birth in a nearby stable.  All of the blessed events happen to a engaged couple known as Mary and Joseph. It is a wondrous story that outshines all of the other holiday hoopla and one that has been celebrated for over 2000 years and counting.
Advent is a time of anticipating the birth of the Christ child. We, Christians and Bible readers, know the “rest of the story” that says the baby grew up to become the man Jesus, who was arrested, crucified and buried and let’s not forget his resurrection.  Christians look forward to Easter morning because we can finally let go of the season of lent as well as the pain and suffering Jesus endured during Holy week. We rejoice that Jesus conquered death and celebrate the cleansing of our sin on the cross by the Son of God. At times you might hear Christians described as “Easter people” because of this gift of grace and redemption. I am grateful for the life of Jesus, God’s Son, his sacrifice and willing atonement for my sinfulness and that of a broken world. From the cross he looked through space and time to accomplish this work for all generations past, present and future. But wait… The gift of salvation could not have happened without the baby born in a manger first.

In order for us to be Easter people, we must also recognize that we are Christmas people too. The baby, born in a manger with the shepherds and animals was God. Yes, Jesus is God’s-self revealed.  When I first heard Jesus described in that way it caught me off guard because even though I believed in the Trinity, I thought that Jesus was Jesus and God was God. However God’s self-revelation began with the promise found in the Gospel of Matthew, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”), (vs 23).  Think about that for just a moment. The baby who was born in a barn, to a young woman named Mary, was God. This Immanuel came to us, to be with us, live like us; experience joy, sadness, love, grief, anger and everything that comes with being human, like us. As many of us read the birth story every year, we gain a better understanding of just how important this little babe is to us. The angels knew as they rejoiced at his birth. The shepherds, who were the outsiders, knew too as they looked upon the face of God. By giving this opportunity to the shepherds, who were the lowest of the low, God was drawing attention to the people who were the people on the fringes and lost, lowly and unloved.   This infant child grew into a man who offered hope for all people to experience his a new way of love, grace and mercy. All people regardless their of gender, economic status, creed, race or sexual orientation matter to God.

Christians who are mainly focused on the cross and the sacrifice of God’s Son at Easter can loose sight of the miraculous birth at Christmas, which happened first. The redemption fulfilled at Easter needs to be viewed through the sacrifice of God coming to earth, at Christmas. the baby who became one of us so that the human side of God’s nature could be known. This is what is so special about the season of Advent. We are given an opportunity to reflect on God’s choice to be Immanuel, “God with us” and celebrate the Christ child born in a humble manger as a Savior for all believers. In this time of waiting for the holy birth let us give thanks for the wonder of Christmas and the babe called Immanuel.
2 Comments
Paul Cooper
12/4/2018 08:27:16 am

This sentence: "This Immanuel came to us, to be with us, live like us; experience joy, sadness, love, grief, anger and everything that comes with being human, like us." reminds me of that great passage in Hebrews 4: 15-16: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Merry Christmas!

Reply
Denise
12/4/2018 08:53:54 am

Thanks Paul.. it is interesting that you should be reminded of that text because I just posted it today on Facebook. Great minds.. Merry Christmas to you!!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Denise seeks to empower people to live into their true potential...
                               Read More

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All
    Abundance
    Acceptance
    Adapt
    Adult
    Advent
    Adventure
    Alzheimer's
    Angelic
    Angels
    Art
    Attention
    Baby Jesus
    Baptist
    Beauty
    Belief
    Believe
    Belonging
    Be Still
    Betrayed
    Black Lives
    Blessed
    Blessing
    Bold
    Bounty
    Breathe
    Brithday
    Brokenness
    Build Together
    Call
    Captivity
    Caring
    Celebrate
    Challenged
    Champion
    Change
    Chaos
    Children
    Choice
    Christ
    Christ Child
    Christmas
    Church
    Community
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Confidence
    Courage
    Creating
    Creation
    Creativity
    Crooked Lines
    Cross
    Crowd
    Crown Of Thorns
    Crucifixion
    Darkness
    David
    Dawn
    Decisions
    Delighted
    Denied
    Depression
    Determination
    Detour
    Disciples
    Discovery
    Divine
    Divorce
    Dry Bones
    Easter
    Empowered
    Equality
    Extravagance
    Eyewitness
    Failure
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Father
    Fear
    Flame
    Forgiven
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Friend
    Fruits Of The Spirit
    Game
    Gift
    Gifts
    Gladiator
    Glorious
    Glory
    God
    God Given Gifts
    God-given Gifts
    God Moments
    God-moments
    God's Glory
    God's Love
    God's Timing
    Grace
    Grateful
    Gratitude
    Greatest
    Greek
    Handiwork
    Healed
    Heart
    Holding Space
    Holidays
    Holy Spirit
    Home
    Honor
    Hope
    Hopelessness
    Humanity
    Humility
    I AM
    Identity
    Imperfection
    Inside
    Isaiah
    Jesus
    Jesus Christ
    Job
    John 3:16
    John The Baptist
    Journey
    Joy
    Judging
    Labels
    Lent
    Light
    Liminal Space
    Lion's Heart
    Listen
    Lonliness
    Lord's Table
    Lost
    Love
    Love One Another
    Manager
    Manger
    Mary
    Matter
    Memorial Day
    Memphis
    Mended
    Mercy
    Messiah
    Messiness
    Ministry
    Mom
    Mothers
    Moving
    Music
    Mystery
    Nations
    Nativity
    Neighbor
    New Beginning
    New Birth
    New Day
    New Year
    Open
    Pain
    Paradise
    Parents
    Partner
    Peace
    Pentecost
    Persistent
    Perspective
    Potter
    Power
    Praise
    Prayer
    Preparing
    Presence
    Promise
    Psalm 23
    Purpose
    Pursuit
    Questions
    Radical
    Radio
    Randomness
    Remember 9/11
    Respect
    Rest
    Restoration
    Resurrection
    Risen
    Running
    Sacred Pit
    Sacrifice
    Salt
    Savior
    Scarsity
    Second Best
    See Others
    Serenity
    Servants
    Sharing
    Shepherd
    Shines
    Sibling
    Simon Of Cyrene
    Son
    Spirit
    Spirit Of God
    Spirit Of Love
    Stone
    Storm
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Suffering Servant
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thankful
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    The Wall
    Together
    Tomb
    Tower Of Babel
    Traditions
    Transition
    Trauma
    Traveler
    Trinity
    Trust
    Understanding
    Undervalued
    Unfaithful
    Unity
    Unworthy
    Value
    Virus
    Vision
    Voice
    Voiceless
    Waiting
    Wandering
    Water
    Weeps
    Welcome
    Wilderness
    Wind
    Window
    Wisdom
    Woman At The Well
    Women

    RSS Feed

MENU

HOME
BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT

COPYRIGHT © 2015 VIBRANTLIVES.NET

CONNECT WITH US