Do you know?

Posted by Tammy | 0 comments

Over thirteen years ago, someone contacted my husband and I about helping with the Christmas Eve service at church. They wanted to set up a manger scene and were looking for a couple with a baby to walk to the manger in appropriate dress and portray Joseph and Mary while having their baby lie in the manger. Of course, being in a state of sleep deprivation with a new baby in our home while tending to her six siblings made it easy to say “yes”.

We were relieved to have a very easy going baby this time around who completely cooperated with the Christmas Eve service in a darkened church. Lying her in the manger was not a problem at all as she quietly gazed at the lights around her. As I simply pondered my sweet baby, I thought of Mary who had perhaps more intensely pondered her baby. A baby she had heard about when the angel Gabriel appeared to her before she had even married.

“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. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” ~ Luke 1:30-33

Could Mary’s heart even grasp the impact her baby would have on the world? Could her human knowledge of kingly reign even come close to realizing that her baby would someday grow up to be known at the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords of the heavens and the earth?

Then consider when the shepherds came to see this baby after an angel had appeared to them in the fields being joined by a company of angels praising God and Mary’s response to their visit.

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” ~ Luke 2:16-19

As Mary was treasuring the early moments of her newborn’s life, could she have even imagined that this baby named Jesus would grow up to be a man known as Lord and Savior as He displayed God’s unconditional love by His sacrificial death? A death followed by His glorious resurrection that would provide a way of salvation for those around the world whose greatest need in life was the forgiveness of sins for a repentant heart desiring to draw closer to their Heavenly Father?

If on this Christmas Day you are someone who has never met Jesus, may I encourage you to ponder the baby we remember during this season. You can read about His arrival in the first couple of chapters of the book of Luke in the Holy Bible. Then turn to the next book, John, and read about His life, death, and resurrection which continues to impact the world He created as He offers eternal life to everyone who believes and trusts in Him as their Lord and Savior.

If on this Christmas Day you are someone who is quite familiar with Jesus, may I encourage you to treasure the Son of God we remember during this season. Continue to immerse yourself in His Word stoking the fire of your belief which allows you to live obediently with the help of the Holy Spirit impacting the world around you as you follow Him.

For on this Christmas Day, knowing JESUS truly is the Heart of the Matter……

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.