A baby born in Bethlehem

About a month ago, my family celebrated the birth of the first grandchild. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their new addition, Eli, to the family and life as we know it changed for the better. There's nothing like holding that sweet baby and a special joy when he grabs onto your fingers and holds on for dear life. He'll be a month old this week, and from the first minute I held him, I knew without a doubt that he was a gift straight from God.

But that thought also led me to think about another gift from God: His Son, Jesus. As I held my nephew some 3 days after his birth, I was struck with how tiny he was. Fragile. Breakable. Unable to care for himself. Vulnerable.

Those thoughts led me to think about Jesus. Yes, I've known the Christmas story since I was just a little older than Eli. I know about Mary and Joseph, the donkey ride to Bethlehem, the birth in a stable. I know all of that, but as I held Eli, I was struck by the vulnerability and fragile nature of God's plan for our salvation.

God's plan included Jesus being born to a virgin in Bethlehem, welcomed by lowly shepherds, and cradled in Joseph's worn carpenter's hands. Jesus came to earth as a tiny baby, just like us. He came to walk among us, to be vulnerable and fragile . . . just like us.

Christmas is about love, God's love for us and His plan to be in eternal relationship with us. Eli has taught me about the depth and scope of God's love. It's easy to say that Christmas is about love, but this is a kind of love in which God wraps Himself in flesh and comes to our world to live among us, share in our sorrows, temptations, and the everyday drudgery of life. Christmas is about Jesus making Himself vulnerable and fragile so that we—who don't deserve it—could be in relationship with Him and truly know God. Christmas is about a God who was willing to give Himself up for us.

So be vulnerable and fragile this Christmas. Let the true meaning of the season pour over you and celebrate that this year.