"Seeing was believing." Luke 2:17 (MSG) As I read the Christmas story again today I thought about the Shepards when they came to the manger to see the baby Jesus. An angel had come to them in the field and spoke about their Savior being born. I wonder what went through their minds when they saw the angel appear to them? Do you think they may have thought they had been out in the field to long and were now seeing things and hearing things? They acted on the Word of God! Is that not what the angel was speaking to them, the Word of God? Notice what they did, they went straight to the manger to see for themselves this baby Jesus. Does the bible not say that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). I believe that the Shepards were acting in faith by going to see this thing that they had heard. Can you imagine what they must have felt to see the "Savior" face to face!
Do you remember looking at your baby's or someone else's baby's hands and feet and noticing the size and wonder of God's creation? I wonder what was going through the mind of Mary when she looked at Jesus' hands and feet for the first time. Do you think that she was concerned about him being healthy with ten fingers and ten toes (like we do our own) or do you think for that moment she was trying to figure out how it was all going to play out with him being the Savior of the world? That must have been a great weight upon the mind of Mary knowing that someday those little hands and little feet would change and be a great testament to men, women and children of the world. Those little hands and feet grew so that they could withstand the weight of Jesus as he carried the weight of sin for the world. That makes the manger scene more special to me when I think about it in that manner.
To borrow a phrase from our Christmas play at Kempville: Don't miss the manger!
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