Missing Baby Jesus

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”—Luke 2:12 (NIV)

A few weeks ago, I got out my Christmas decorations and opened a set of petite, white ceramic nativity figurines. I immediately saw that Baby Jesus was no longer in the set. I looked in the bigger box and could not find Him. I was missing Baby Jesus! Surely He had slipped through the cracks of the smaller box and fallen into the bottom of the larger one. I looked again. Still no Baby Jesus.

It had been a while since I displayed this little set. Last year, I did the bare basics, trying to pace my grief through my first holiday season without my husband. I couldn’t remember what I did last year when I packed up the tiny representation of the history-changing event.

Without Baby Jesus there was no point in setting up the Nativity, because the unique thing about Christianity is the virgin birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. There is no Christmas without Jesus.

The nativity without the Baby is void of the purpose and life that was planned. It is minus the life that would restore us to our original relationship with God. It’s missing that someone who would catch our tears and transform our pain into beauty—who would testify to who God is and demonstrate the love of the Father. Without Jesus, we are missing the God Man who would lay down His life so that we might make the choice to live eternally. The One and only who would rise again so we, as followers of Christ, can do the same.

This profound truth, represented by a simple piece of ceramic, is the same profound supernatural truth wrapped up in a baby—a baby boy who would become King. A King who was born to a virgin, delivered on a straw-laden dirt floor in an animal barn, with a feed trough for His cradle. Such meager beginnings are easily overlooked and considered barren of anything deeper. The world assumes the barn stall is void of anything more significant than what meets the eye or maybe more accurately the heart.

But simplicity is exactly how God approaches us. He’s not complicated or distant. We must come close to His heart to hear and understand Him. We can do that because we are given the choice to return His affection.

I used to tell my sons that Santa is for children, but the message of Christmas is for everyone. The truth is that the nativity exists because a baby was born. A baby who would take away the sins of the world and restore us to relationship with God—and even more. His birth paved the way for us to receive the gift of living eternally with Him.

If the holiday season finds you missing Baby Jesus and you can’t remember what you last did with Him, take a few moments to sit quietly. Unpack the things that have been keeping you from Him and lay them at His feet. In response to His love, choose surrender. Choose forgiveness. Choose to be thankful. Allow yourself the opportunity to discover the simplicity of His profound beauty.

Set aside some time to meditate on seeing the birth of Jesus in a whole new way. Read Luke 1—2:20. Take your time and absorb the details. Imagine what it must have been like then, and what it would be like today if you were in Mary’s sandals. Imagine being turned away from every hospital available and left to give birth in an alley beside the dumpsters.

What similarities do you share as a woman, mother, or follower of Christ? What things do you wish to understand better about His birth? Smell the barn, look around at the details of the birthing place. Hear the voice of the innkeepers who turned Mary away.

Find a quiet place and close your eyes. Think about the setting of your choice (where you have been left to deliver your baby). Would you be calm, peaceful? Terrified and scared? A mixture?

I can’t help but feel that maybe, aside from birthing pain, Mary was calm and peaceful in the midst of an environment that most likely felt unnatural and uncertain. I think this mainly because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but also because when I experience His presence in my uncertainty or chaos, He gives me a peace that surpasses my natural ability to understand.

Even if you don’t get a single gift from anyone else, God offers you the most precious One of all—His son.

NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!

Self-Reflection

These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.

This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.

Read Luke 1—2:20. 

• What did you learn/see that was a new revelation for you?
• Do any of the facts speak differently to you? Share what that might be.
• Were you confused about anything? Explain.
• Do you make a distinction between the message of Christmas and the message of Santa? How?
• What is the biggest stumbling block for you at Christmastime?
• Regarding your stumbling block, can you find scripture that speaks life into it? Write it down. 
• Think back to your favorite Christmas present in all the world and the great memories of who gave it to you, etc.
• Who gave it to you and what do they mean to you?
• How did it impact your life?
• How did that gift equip you for today? 
• Is it still impacting your life?
  What is the emotion you relate to the gift? 
• What lesson did it teach you? 
• What sort of staying power of influence did it have in your life?

Spend some time in reflecting on the gift of Baby Jesus and how He has impacted the world and you! 

Talk to God about your answers. Give Him praise, ask Him questions and then listen for His gentle response.

Take Action

Use God’s word to take control over the traumas in your life.  Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His word.

Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”—Luke 2:12 (NIV)

Read God’s word and say to yourself:  Some of the most amazing gifts God has for me are disguised in what can seem too small to make a difference.

Merry Christmas!