A humble birth. That's an understatement, isn't it? I think of barns and farms I have visited. For a city girl, the smell is overwhelming and causes me to gag - especially around the pigs! It doesn't seem to matter how clean and well taken care of the animals or their surrounding are. It just stinks. And yet this was where the Son of God was born. Humble indeed!
The author describes how another Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled. This "chocolate chip" described how the Saviour would come from Bethlehem. Isn't it awesome how God works this all out?!
From the moment of his birth, the Son of God made himself ... accessible. (41) I appreciate how the author explains the Most Holy Place and what Israel had known up till then. Where before only the high priest had trembling access, now even lowly shepherds (and frazzled mothers) could approach in confidence.
The application in The Bread of Life is spot on! I easily claim that Jesus is my Bread of Life, but then I go and depend on something else or myself. What comforting reassurance to hear once again that the Lord is with me. Now if I could just not forget it/act like it! Lord, help me to mother with Mary's simple faith. You are the Bread of Life who came down from heaven, the only food that can fill my hungry heart and satisfy all my desires. When I have you, I have all that I truly need.
Mothering Like Mary
Well, wow. I would bawl my eyes out if everything I owned sunk to the bottom of the Red Sea. I remember when my husband and I were moving to Michigan for his year of vicaring. We had an infant son and I was not keen on driving from Milwaukee, around Chicago and up to our final destination. We decided to take the ferry across Lake Michigan. This way, I could nurse the baby when needed, walk around, and not be stuck in traffic. But I remember all our earthly possessions loaded up in a U-haul and boarding the ramp to park below deck. I remember praying, "Lord, please let us get to our destination safely along with all our stuff!" He saw fit to answer that prayer by allowing us to cross safely without incident!
But it is really all just stuff. And it's a timely reminder as I stress out about getting all the presents wrapped, the tree trimmed, my baking started, the nutcracker collection displayed ... well, I could keep going but you get the idea. I must keep remembering that having Jesus is sufficient.
Ponder
God "kneads" history. How is that encouraging to you? What examples from history could you use to impress this same encouragement on your child? History is just about my favourite subject to teach my kids. I like to refer to it as His-story. We study it chronologically to see the progression. Years ago I purchased a poster titled "Map of the Humanities" that follows roads along a timeline to see them progress and intersect. It hangs in my homeschool room. The roads are: History, Church History, Government, Philosophy, Literature and Art History. You can actually download it for free here. I am constantly amazed how God works all things out, has a bigger purpose than I could ever imagine, and orchestrates events like a symphony of great music! This is especially timely as world events can cause us to wonder what's going to happen to life as we know it? There's no doubt that history can be ugly and quite possibly our future - but God still stands as Ruler and promises to work all things out for the good of those that love Him!
2 comments:
Thanks for the link to downloading the map! I've downloaded it, but it might be more for myself than for my kids - I was never that interested in history, but the older I get, the more I see how interesting and valuable it is.
Sharing my experience with having all my earthly possessions in transit - I've done it a bunch of times in this military lifestyle. I strongly dislike the experience of preparing for a move and settling in after a move, but for me, the calm in the eye of the storm is when that truck drives away with all our stuff on it. I breathe a sigh of relief and feel like skipping and dancing. A part of me wishes the whole lot of it WOULD just sink in the Red Sea. "Things" are just not my favorite.
That's not to say I don't ever build my nest (I loved that analogy!) on something other than God's promises. I do. But determining what this "little bird of trust" builds her nest on took some real deep thought. Maybe it's physical and emotional comfort?* Maybe it's a sense that I'm accomplishing something? Maybe it's the sense that I'm doing the right thing - living "right," making "right" decisions??? I think that little bird builds her nest out of a lot of different kinds of materials. How to move it? One twig at a time, I guess, with repentance, prayer, and daily time in God's Word.
This is where Mary and her life can serve as a great example for me. Look at the grand and glorious miracle our God worked through her downright uncomfortable circumstances! I don't have to make something of my life. God will! I don't need to live perfectly. Jesus did it for me! Even though discomfort seems to hinder me, God still uses my weaknesses to display his power!
*Speaking of physical and emotional comfort, here is where the question comes in about how Jesus emptied himself of his divine rights by being born. He took on a human body - so he would experience pain, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sore muscles, being too cold, being too hot... All that stuff. He took on human emotions, so he would feel angry and sad - that we know from what the Bible tells us. Did he also experience annoyance (for example, with all those people constantly following him, even when he was trying to find some solitude alone), frustration, stress...? I don't know which of these emotions would only happen in a sinful heart, but certainly even Jesus, in his perfection, experienced negative emotions that he could have avoided if he just stayed in the comfort of heaven...??? Maybe Pastor Halldorson would have some insight on this. I think I might be toe-ing the line. Generally, though, my point is that to become human is to experience mental/emotional and physical discomfort, so Jesus could have avoided all that if he'd just remained his divine (non-human) self in heaven.
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