"What Child Is This?"

"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 12)

What child is this who laid to rest, on Mary's lap is sleeping?

This child was a sign. In the Greek, that word meant that He was the finger-mark of God. He was Savior, Christ and Lord all in one verse (v.11). He shone with the radiance of the Father's glory and was the exact representation of His being. (Heb. 1: 3)

This child was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, not in a palace as would have been befitting a King.

His little eyes would one day weep over Jerusalem and her sins. They would cry over the death of a friend.

His little hands would one day touch the blind and they would see. They would touch ears and they would hear. Those hands would cleanse the leper and drive out the fiercest demon. When His hand would raise, storms would still and winds would lose their breath.

His cry would turn into a voice that would stop hurricanes with a single "Hush." His voice would comfort an adulteress. Speak with love to a sin-full woman. Laugh out loud when the lame started dancing. Call men to follow Him. Teach multitudes. Pray to His Heavenly Father. Cry out in unimaginable pain nailed to a Roman cross.

His heart would be filled with compassion for the hurting, the poor, the abused, and the down-trodden. A heart that bursts with everlasting, unconditional, out of this world, love for you and me to this very day.

Those little feet would one day walk the dusty roads of Galilee, searching for anyone who would dare to listen to His words. They would be anointed with perfume from a broken woman's alabaster box. One day those feet would walk the road to Calvary.

What child is this?

This is a child that angels watched. Shepherds greeted. Kings worshipped. Learned men listened. Fishermen followed. Sinners dined. Crowds cheered. Blind men and lepers called out. Crowds jeered and cursed. Officials flogged. Governors condemned. Roman hands crucified. Women anointed. Gentle hands buried. A stone rolled away. A tomb empty. A Savior alive!

What child is this?

It was written about Him in the ancient Hebrew scroll. "Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9: 6)

He was anointed to preach good news to the poor. He was sent to bind up your broken heart, and proclaim freedom for whatever has you captive. If your world is dark today, He came to give you blessed release. (Isaiah 61: 1) He came to turn your ashes into beauty, your mourning into gladness, and array you richly in a garment of praise, to replace that spirit of heaviness you've been wearing for so long. (Isaiah 61: 3)

What child is this?

He is the one who read those very words on that scroll in the synagogue one Sabbath evening, and sat down saying, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

What child is this?

"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying:

   "You are worthy to take the scroll
   and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
   and with your blood you purchased for God
   persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
   and they will reign on the earth."

 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

   "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honor and glory and praise!"

 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

   "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
   be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"

 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5)

What child is this? He is The Christ, the Son of the Living God. The child who began His life in a wooden manger and exchanged it for a wooden cross. The child who began His life in a stable and exchanged it for a throne.   

This is Jesus the One and Only!

Wishing you a blessed and exceedingly Merry Christmas from our house to yours! May you know His abundant love, mercy, and grace. May you make it your life's passion to seek Him with all that is within you, worship Him with every fiber of your being, believe Him always, and to chase hard after Him until you see Him face to face.      

     

Donna