Remember What We Are Celebrating

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. 

Luke 2:19 The Message Bible

Every mother has high hopes for her baby from the minute he or she is born. What will he grow up to be? Who will she look like? Will he be smart? Will she be popular? A million questions run through every mother’s head when she sees her newborn baby. Mary had the same questions, and one more that we wouldn’t ask. What will happen to the Son of God?

If you have read the entire Bible or have never opened one, if you’re in church every weekend or just for funerals and weddings, you probably know the story well. You know how this baby’s life on this earth ends. Most people have heard that the baby Jesus grew up and shared the truth about His Father, only to die an unimaginably painful death on a cross.

Imagine that you are Mary or Joseph, and you could see your baby’s future and know that horrible end? How could you have any joy in your life? Believe it or not, God knew the horrible end His Son would face, and He sent His Son to us anyway, so we would not have to face that pain ourselves. That is how much God loves us. He sent Jesus as a sacrifice, a perfect Lamb, to die in our place.

(From "The Christmas Story in 40 Days".)