December, 2002 "Who Do You See?"

Christmas – a time of remembering Christ’s birth - a time full of tradition, warmth, family, happy thoughts. One of our family traditions is to display nativity sets. I now have several and every few years, I like to acquire a new one. Well, this year I found the best and cutest one ever! It is just perfect for my 21 month-old granddaughter. All the animals, shepherds, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger are fashioned of fabric. Even the stable is a little cloth house with a carrying handle.

She will be able to have so much fun with it, and of course, I am hoping it will distract her from the ones made of porcelain and crystal.
I was so excited to get it out the day after Thanksgiving and give it to her. She honestly wasn’t too interested, however. It will take awhile for her to learn the story and to use her imagination playing with all the figures. But what caught my attention was the fact that she kept calling every person by the name of Jesus (except of course for the Mary and the baby).
You see, we have spent a lot of time looking at my Bible which has some wonderful pictures of classic masterpiece paintings of Jesus’ life in it. And she has a Bible with all the great pictures of Jesus as well. So when I told her the nativity was about Jesus, she thought all those bearded and robed men (the shepherds, Joseph and the three wise men) were all Jesus. She didn’t recognize the One whose birth the celebration of Christmas is all about.

How much is that like us? We go through all the activity and yet we don’t even recognize Jesus – the One who all the activity if supposed to be for and about.

Do you remember the Christmas Carol with the lyrics “Do You Hear What I Hear”? It asks the questions – Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? Do you know what I know?

These are good questions to stop and ask ourselves – not only during this Christmas season, but throughout the year. Who do you see when you look into the manger of your nativity set? What is your reason for “having” Christmas?

The song ends with the verse:

“The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light.
He will bring us goodness and light.”

The people who lived during the time Jesus was born saw Jesus, the baby. God saw the Mighty Savior and Deliverer and Redeemer. Who do you see? Do you see that Jesus not only brings us goodness and light but that He is goodness and light?

You know there are some people who actually believe that Jesus began His existence that night in Bethlehem. The truth is – Jesus did not begin there – He always was. It was at that time, however, that He stepped out of Eternity and into our world so that we might be saved, healed, delivered, freed from sin, and brought into fellowship with the Father.

Philippians says it this way.

Philippians 2

Imitating Christ's Humility

1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Isn’t that beautiful? Jesus gave up all of His nature as God to come and take our nature as man so He could go the cross for us. It explains it even better in the Gospel of John.

John 1

The Word Became Flesh

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

Jesus is the Word of God!!!! And He came to make His dwelling among us and in us!

Do you see in verses 10 and 11 where it says that Jesus was not recognized or received? They did not see Him. They did not know Him and they did not hear what God was saying through Him. Don’t let the same be said of you. Read what it says in Colossians about Jesus.

Colossians 1

The Supremacy of Christ

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Don’t miss Jesus this Christmas season. Don’t miss Him – ever. He came to give you life and that life abundantly. Without Him we have no life and we cannot go to the Father except through Him.

Won’t you receive Him this Christmas not only as the Babe in the manger – but as your Lord and Savior? Tell Him now you want to see Him, hear Him and know Him now and forever more.

With L.O.V.E. and Christmas Blessings,
Patty

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