Christmas Reminder Part 2

Today I can't help but think about Mary and Joseph, and Jesus.

You can't help but appreciate Joseph as an adoptive parent. Of all the honored positions in history, no other man can ever say he was entrusted with raising, and protecting God. What an awesome responsibility! And Mary! I get goose bumps when I think of what it must have been like for her. Imagine explaining to your parents that you're pregnant, unwed, but it's all good because it was God's baby! Talk about a rocky beginning! I think one of the reasons God allowed Joseph to deliver the Baby himself, was so that he and Mary were in it together right from the start. God is clever that way.

But what really pulls at my heart is the thought that from the moment Jesus was born, they knew He was going to die a horrible death. They had been raised on the prophesies of the coming Messiah. That had to have known that this beautiful Baby would one day be tortured. God knew it too. Yet still He came.

No one forced Jesus to come to our world. He willingly came to embrace the human experience. He could have appeared as an adult, fully equipped to begin His teaching. He could have stayed on earth for a year and then returned to His rightful place. 33 years... I'm humbled and honored to be loved this much.