Holidays

---

The other day my mother told me there's song she used to sing as a solo many years ago that has kept running through my mind this year. She can't remember the title, but the refrain was, "How I wonder, as years go by, if Jesus as a baby cried, and did His mother sing to Him a lullaby?"

When telling me about the song, she said, "You know, many times we place God so far away and untouchable that we forget He was human. This song reminds me that He was human, too."

Many times during this busy season called Christmas we forget the real meaning of the holiday - to prepare ourselves for Christ's coming and to celebrate His birth.
Even if the real reason pops into our mind from time-to-time as we're shopping for gifts, baking goodies, or decorating our houses, very few of us probably give much thought to the fact that Christ was human as well as divine.

As a baby, He probably cried when His diaper was wet or when He was hungry, just as He probably cooed at the sound of Mary's voice or giggled at the wooden playthings Joseph made for Him.

He had to learn to crawl, stand, and walk as He grew just like you and I did. And when He would fall down and go "boom" just like we did, He probably outstretched His arms and cried for Mary to pick Him up and comfort Him, the same as you and I did with our mothers.

As He grew, He more than likely became curious about the world around Him, which meant Mary worried about what He would get into just like our mothers did when we were toddlers. His curiosity probably led Him to Joseph's woodworking tools or Mary's cabinets just as we were drawn to things that were "no-nos" for us.

Just because the Bible doesn't tell us a great deal about Christ's childhood, teen years, or early adulthood doesn't mean that He went from being an infant in a manager to a 30-year-old man without experiencing many of the same feelings you and I did growing up.

Have you ever stopped to consider that because Christ was chosen by His Heavenly Father for the most important mission ever that He may have been ridiculed and picked-on by other youngsters as He went about His Father's business? How often does this happen to youngsters today who are thought of as being different than the "norm"?

Have you ever stopped to think that Christ mourned and felt the sorrow of losing a friend or family member? That He had friends growing up who maybe moved away? Or that He loved to play games with the other children just like children do today?

Have you thought about Christ having to learn to read and write the same as you and I did? About having to attend school? About having to do chores around the house? About learning the carpenter's trade from Joseph?

In many branches of Christ's church, the season of Advent is celebrated as the period before Christmas when men and women prepare their hearts for the coming of the Christ Child.

Then on Christmas day, millions upon earth celebrate His arrival. While we celebrate God's greatest gift to mankind, let us not forget that Christ, above everyone else, can relate to how we feel because He was human as well as divine.

My Christmas wish for you this year is that you may experience the love and grace of Christ divine, while understanding the very special meaning behind the human Christ as well.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE