Daily Devotionals
Monday, December 23, 2024 (Mary Ann)
Dear Jesus,
It’s that time of year again when we’re thinking and singing a lot about you. But there are some things I’m wondering about. See, nothing was written about you between your birth and when you were 12 and you scared Mary and Joseph into thinking they had lost the Messiah!
We do know you were a helpless baby when you were born. And you had to grow through all those messy, clumsy baby and toddler stages. But did there come a time when you looked up at the stars and realized you knew each one? And even more, you knew their names … because YOU named them when YOU made each of them?
I’ll bet (Oops, can I say that?) you were the boy every kid wanted as a best friend. Oh, you were fun and had a great sense of humor, but you accepted everyone. You listened well. You were a helper. You always told the truth and were kind. And you were smart yet humble at the same time. You were … perfect.
Your mom and dad were great, weren’t they? But did you ever look at them and remember that you not only knew them before you were born … but that you had knit them together in their mothers’ wombs?!?
I’m sure a favorite bedtime story of yours was how you were born in a barn full of stinky animals (All boys would thing that was pretty cool.) and how your folks had to wrap you up in strips of cloth and make a bed for you in a stone feeding trough. (Wasn’t that kind of uncomfortable?) Actually, you had seen shepherds doing that very thing to keep their best lambs perfect for sacrifice at the Temple.
Were you drawn to those lambs, somehow? Did you connect the dots? I mean how old were you when you realized that YOU were God’s perfect sacrificial lamb?
I’ll bet (oops again) you were catching on by the time you were 12. That’s when your frantic folks found you in the Temple in Jerusalem outsmarting the priests. You explained that you were “about your Father’s business.” I think they knew exactly what you meant.
So Jesus, I hope someday you’ll tell me about those years. I’d love to hear all about how you grew up and how you realized just who you were and how much we need you. But in the meantime, I just wanted to thank you.
I love you. I’m so glad you came.
Mary Ann
