I saw this picture of a manger scene, nestled quietly under a Christmas tree and I felt my heart whisper that the tree had always loomed in the background of the life of this little child who was born to be our Savior. It was the backdrop of every scene in His life. The tree held His purpose and it was never very far away.
Wrapped in humble rags and nestled in a manager–where the hungry come to eat–He lay there, full of promise and full of glory. Before He did a single miracle, before He spoke a word on Earth, He was worshiped…not for anything He had done, but who He was…for Who He IS.
As I look at the scene, my momma’s heart wrenches as I imagine the weight these parents bore with honor. They were charged with raising up the Christ only to let Him go when His time arrived. How gently they must have held Him as they looked into His eyes, knowing they were holding the very source of hope for all…right in their hands.
And the tree…it’s larger than they can see in the joy of this moment. The fullness of all it is and all it means can’t fit fully into this picture. It’s larger than they will ever be able to truly see until His time has come and He is nailed to the wood and poured out for the salvation of all mankind. The tree was there since His birth, it was the whole reason He came.
And the lights on the tree, how they shine…and the light of the Earth, how He brought hope and illumination into our lives…through the birth…through His death.
As we celebrate Christmas this year and we see the manager scene, I pray that we also remember the tree. I pray we realize what it was all about…His entire life on this earth that led up to one moment in time where He would give Himself fully for us. Let our gift-giving to one another remind us of His gift that he selflessly gave to all mankind. And when we’re looking at the tree, let us see the light of hope that shines because the tree couldn’t finish Him.
Merry Christmas to all my family and friends and even random readers whom I’ve never met. I love each one of you dearly. Let the love of the resurrected Christ shine freely in all your holiday celebrations!
Photo courtesy of my dear friend, Jacque Hall. 🙂
220 Gal 