When God decided to reveal Himself to us, He didn\u2019t come in a fiery chariot, leading a vast angelic army. Neither did He come as a towering giant, crushing the insignificant with every step. No, he chose one of the most helpless beings in all creation: a human baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? The theological answer is Jesus is fully God and fully man, so he had to be born as a human baby. He also came to redeem human beings. What better way to do that than to identify with them as closely as He could\u2014as a human? But maybe His human birth can also remind us of what a newborn child represents and reveal more clearly our true identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Babies are totally dependent on someone else, so maybe Jesus arrived as a baby to remind us that we\u2019re totally dependent on God. Whether or not we admit it, we can\u2019t add one day to our lives unless God allows our heart to keep beating. And so many aspects of life are uncontrollable\u2014a natural disaster, a cancer diagnosis, a loved one\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same way, we are helpless spiritually without God. Every person is in the same sorry condition\u2014without hope, without spiritual life\u2014unless God steps in. Christmas, then, is a powerful reminder that we\u2019re all as helpless as a baby without the life, hope, and wisdom Jesus offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All babies are made in the image of their parents\u2014sometimes in visible ways such as a father\u2019s eyes or a mother\u2019s hair color, and sometimes in personality traits, interests, or abilities. Similarly, every human being is made in God\u2019s image\u2014\u201cafter our likeness\u201d He said in Genesis 1:26. We reflect our spiritual parent, God, in our capacity to love, learn, invent, and imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wonder of Jesus coming to earth as a baby during Christmas provides an opportunity to consider the wonder of our personal arrival on earth\u2014we are a unique reflection of God\u2019s image. And so are our loved ones, whatever they choose to believe or deny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every baby also has a family tree\u2014a long line of ancestors whose strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures have influenced succeeding generations. Some are born into environments filled with opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed. Others are hampered by lack of opportunity or genetic health issues. And sadly, some are raised in abusive environments that leave lifelong scars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christmas reminds us, though, that God offers us adoption into His family\u2014one with endless possibilities and opportunities. Our royal spiritual heredity should fill us with joy and hope all year long. No matter where we came from, what we have or haven\u2019t done, God offers us the best identity of all\u2014his family name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it\u2019s difficult to see yourself as someone stamped with God\u2019s image and as a royal son or daughter of the King. Or you may struggle to see someone else in that way. Maybe your battle is related to admitting your helplessness, your daily need for Jesus to fill you with His hope, love, and peace. Or you may be reluctant to turn your loved one completely over to God, trusting Him to work in their life and draw them back to Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Christmas, ask God to reveal to you all the ways Jesus\u2019s helplessness, parentage, and heredity reflect your own. Ask Him to heal any wounds related to your family and thank Him for all the blessings you receive because you are made in His image and have been adopted into His family.<\/p>\n
When God decided to reveal Himself to us, He didn\u2019t come in a fiery chariot, leading a vast angelic army. Neither did He come as a towering giant, crushing the insignificant with every step. No, he chose one of the most helpless beings in all creation: a human baby. Why? The theological answer is Jesus … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"When God decided to reveal Himself to us, He didn\u2019t come in a fiery chariot, leading a vast angelic army. Neither did He come as a towering giant, crushing the insignificant with every step. No, he chose one of the most helpless beings in all creation: a human baby. Why? The theological answer is Jesus…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4012,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4011\/revisions\/4012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}