Christmas from a New Perspective

Seeing Christmas through a child's eyes is really something special but this year, when we asked a group of first graders to make Christmas cards for the residents of the Missouri Hotel, one little guy's perspective was a bit different. His card said, "I wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope you don't die the next day." Before you start questioning this student's mental state, let me talk you through a first grader's thought process. For him, Jesus was born and then He died for our sins. The fact that there was 33 years in between is lost on a 7 year old. This take on the Christmas story has caused me to dig deeper into the "why" of the whole event. Let me try to explain.

This past summer, I began a Bible study by Beth Moore called "90 Days with Jesus." Because I don't usually do the study on weekends, it has taken me this long to finish the book and ironically, the crucifixion and resurrection came as I was getting ready for the holidays. Although the timing might seem off to you, our wise first grader's slant made it seem fitting to be studying His death while preparing to celebrate His birth.  It occurred to me that up until the time that Jesus came to earth to take on a physical form, God did not really know how it felt to live in an earthly body. For the first time from our perspective, He experienced humanity as He felt the prick of the straw, the coolness of the breeze on His skin, the scratchiness of the swaddling clothes.

And why this divine experiment? He came to feel everything we feel, face every temptation we face, suffer every pain we suffer. Imagine Jesus watching numerous crucifixions take place throughout His life, knowing that was His fate. He heard the screams of agony, saw the tortured faces and torn bodies. He knew the pain of smashing His finger with a hammer and could imagine how much worse crucifixion would be because He had firsthand knowledge of physical, human pain. Is it any wonder that He asked the Father to "take this cup from me" (Mark 14:36)?

And why did He go through with it? So He could be our advocate with the Father (I John 2:1). So He could feel, think, hear, smell, and touch everything we do. He was born so He could die. It's as simple as that. Sounds like our young scholar had it right after all.