Baby Jesus, Baby Christians

“Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”

Luke 2:11 (NIV UK)

Late one night around 4 B.C., in the Roman province of Judea, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds and told them that a Saviour had been born in Bethlehem.

The Saviour was Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t saving anyone right then. He even needed to be saved himself, because his family would soon have to flee to Egypt to save the baby from King Herod.

But God called that helpless baby a Saviour. This infant was the light to the Gentiles; he was the blessing for all nations; he was the son of David who would rule the world; and he was the child of Eve who would crush the serpent’s head.

Jesus would grow up to give his life as a ransom for our sins, to bring us forgiveness and draw us into his own intimate fellowship with the Father. He would defeat the devil. He would defeat death itself.

But on that starry night he was just a baby, born in a stable, his life in danger.

That is how we often see ourselves – small, helpless and in danger. We might look at ourselves and think, I don’t see much here. I still struggle with sin, doubt and guilt. I am still selfish and stubborn. I wonder if God is really doing anything in my life.

The answer is to remember Jesus. Our spiritual beginning may not seem like much right now, but because we are in Jesus, our weak beginnings hold a future of glory. The Holy Spirit in us is a like a down payment, a wonderful taste of glory yet to come.

Luke tells us that a great company of the heavenly host praised God when Jesus was born. It was a moment of triumph, even though humans couldn’t yet see it that way. But the angels knew that victory was certain, because God had told them so.

In I Corinthians 15:57, the apostle Paul wrote:

”… thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as there was glory in the baby Jesus, there is glory in the baby Christian. Whether you’ve been a Christian for 50 seconds or 50 years, in your weakness God’s strength is revealed. In Christ the victory is yours.  You belong to him and he will never let you go.

Prayer

Wonderful Father, thank you that I am your child and that I belong to you and that I can rest in your care, just as the baby Jesus did. In Jesus’ name.

Amen

Study by Joseph Tkach