Baby Jesus

I remember my little kids being fascinated by baby Jesus in the nativity scene. They loved to cradle him and carry him around. I remember trying to find baby Jesus under the furniture or in a toy box somewhere. Now, when I go to my son’s homes, they experience the same thing with their daughters. I wonder what goes on in the minds of little children as they hold this small baby that was so much like them and yet symbolized their Savior.

I think being a child looking at Jesus as a baby must be a very worshipful time. God gives our little children faith that knows they are safe in God’s love for them. They know they are his children. We teach them the words of God in the Bible like the verse below and their child hearts respond with trust so much more readily than our adult hearts do. For those little eyes to soak up the truth that their Jesus who is their God and Father and Savior was at one time a baby, smaller than they are now, must be a time of wonder for them.

When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:4-7

If I were next to a nativity scene with a child, I would love to ask him what he is thinking about that little baby Jesus…. His hands are little like mine. He has to learn how to read like me. He needs parents to take care of him like me. He is like me.

“Jesus died on the cross,” he says as his tiny hands hold the nativity scene baby Jesus.

“Yes”, you say as you watch his eyes staring at the baby.

“He rose from the grave,” he says.

“Yes.”

“Jesus is in heaven.”

“Yes, and he lives in your heart. He is your heavenly Father! He is always with you.”

He holds the baby close to his heart and worships in his heart in three-year-old wonder.

A Daily Prayer
O God, give me a child like faith to ponder what it means that that Baby came for me. You know, dear Jesus, what it is like to live in a family that is not perfect. O Spirit, thank you for giving us the faith to know that God, himself, is our Father because by Jesus coming you have made us all perfect in you. Amen.