Christmas through His Eyes

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman…” Galatians 4:4 
Christmas is all about that miraculous moment when God chose to gaze at his own masterpiece Mary from a very different angle. Rather than observing as he had always done before from the friendly confines of Heaven, the Lord took his place within the vulnerable position of being a brand new baby here on Earth. 
Here was the Creator of the universe literally looking through the eyes of love at the one who laid her reputation aside so that he could become one of us.
Jesus willingly humbled himself and allowed his omnipresence to be contained within the limits of human flesh. Mary and Joseph put honoring the will of God over their pleasing the ways of men and the Nativity navigated its way into history. 
Can you even wrap your brain around the reality that a teenage girl carried the Lord inside her womb for nine full months? How did Mary process that privilege without falling to pieces?
What was it like for the one who is and was the Word to speak his first words as an infant toddler? I wonder what the first sentence that Jesus ever spoke actually was.
Forget a normal Baby Book- Mary and Joseph had the Bible’s author in their midst! Do you thing that Jesus ever toyed with the idea of walking on water when Mary gave him a bath? Why not?
If we don’t stop and invest some well spent time digging deeper into the dramatic reality of what Jesus was coming to Earth is all about, we will end up making the same mistake that the religious regime of the first century made.
The rabbis knew the Scriptures, but they didn’t know enough to apply their lessons which would have led them to the Lord! What good is it to know the sentences if you don’t allow them to lead you to the Savior? And even this holiday, we can get so busy fulfilling our own agenda that we miss out on some key divine appointments that would change our hearts forever.
Are the activities that make us so busy actually building barriers between us and the honored Birthday Boy without us even realizing it? Are we attempting to celebrate Christmas in all the wrong places by planning all the wrong parties?
When Messiah didn’t show up in the maternity wards of Jerusalem, too many refused even to participate in the alternate palace that the Father chose to reveal his Son.
Maybe this is why the first group of people that were invited to the Lord’s birthday party included those who never got asked to any other functions of importance.
Shepherds were only held in high esteem by their sheep. Their culture had no desire to validate even their worth never mind include them in official Worship Services.
Ignored by the world but recognized by the King! Abandoned by the crowd but embraced by the Christ! And here is a small detail that needs to be noted! Who else put their newborns into a feeding trough upon their arrival?
The answer would be the Bedouins. The shepherds’ first lesson of Christmas was, “He’s just like us!” So maybe God did know what he was doing when he was composing the guest list to the baby shower.
It wasn’t so much a coincidence as it was a holy conscience choice.
Christmas might just be better comprehended by us Christians if we would be willing to throw caution to the wind. When Jesus first laid eyes on Mary, what did he see?
This might be a far-fetched illustration, but it did help me understand the magnificence of the moment when Mama and Messiah first interacted in the manger.
Years ago, I was asked to dress up as “The Love Bear” to help promote a local Christian radio station. It meant me getting inside a costume where only my eyes could be seen by the public.
Everybody on the outside saw me as a mascot. On the inside, I was still Rudy even though only God and I knew that fact. Some children were overjoyed to have a Big Bear interact with them.
Others hit me from behind from which I was totally blindsided. There were even a few who screamed in fear when they saw me come near.
I even saw friends that I knew by sight but because they couldn’t see me, had no idea I was in the same room as them.
It was an enlightening experience, to say the least. Looking through the lens of a Love Bear showed me a side of humanity I would have missed if I just stayed in the room as myself.
It was easy to forget that Jesus was God in human skin. Religious Rulers took him way too lightly. Sinners were drawn to his amazing grace and truth. Children loved him beyond words.
Women felt cherished and safe. Simple Fishermen became life changing Preachers! Eternity would be filled with redeemed souls. This all happened because Heaven invaded Earth and God moved into our neighborhood.
Mary would have no way of knowing all that it entailed when she first held that Christmas Baby. But because she did and because Jesus came, none of us would ever be the same again.
Life sure looks different when you witness it from a place of origin. And the same source of power that Mary held in her arms, we now can invite to live within our hearts.
What a difference a birthday makes. Have you allowed it to work its fullness in you?
ED. NOTE: The author is senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church, 1248 Route 9 South, Cape May Court House.