Every year our church would put on a Christmas pageant and with a play, costumes, scripture reading, and songs to perform. The kids were always the big attraction.
Our youngest son, Greg, was to memorize scripture for the Christmas program. He hadn’t informed me of this, so when I ran into his Sunday school teacher in the hallway at church one Sunday, she asked, “How’s Greg coming on his memory verse? I laughed and asked, “What verse?”
Later that day, I asked Greg if he had a note for me from his Sunday school teacher.
“Oh, yeah, he said, I forgot.”
“Do you remember what it was about?”
“Hmm, something about Jesus.”
“What was it?””I think it was something like.” He’s terrific.”
Terrific wasn’t in there, but for this six-year-old, it worked.
It was Isaiah 9:6
“For UNTO US a child is born, unto us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Did you catch it said, “unto YOU (us) a child was born…”?
When a baby is born, a birth announcement made, it will read something like; (un)to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a baby boy was born.
This is different.
In Matthew 2 & Luke 2, the Christmas story. Tells us where Jesus is born, who was the king, (about his evil plan), and how the three wise men traveled from the East to Jerusalem, and why.
Luke tells us why Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, the stable, and how the shepherds received the Good News, “For UNTO YOU is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
The angels declared the Good news to the lowly shepherds in the fields at night.
When the shepherds heard this, they said, “let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
We know shepherds were not high on the social register, and to be told by angels of Jesus’ birth was impressive to me.
Shepherds never leave their flocks. They will stay out and protect them – even sleeping with them. But, with news like this, they probably forgot they had sheep!
Jesus changes everything.
The wise men being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod; so they departed for their own country, another way.
When I met Jesus, I depart a different way, too. Jesus altered my path and changed my destiny forever.
My husband, Chuck, made a manager., and every year we place it beside our Christmas tree. Inside it is a patch of straw, a white remnant of an old sheet, a small white blanket, and then I place a little woolly lamb in it. On the front of the manager’s slats, there is a ribbon hanging and a note that says, “God’s gift to you.” Christmas Eve, I take the little lamb out and put a baby doll in its place.
Trying to grasp the awe the shepherds and the wise men felt that night as they bowed and worshiped a baby- a child-King, God, is impossible, I think.
The Christ child. Lord of lords and King of kings, Savior of the world.
Unto you unto me.
The takeaway: Jesus changes everything.
