Cradle To The Cross - Part 2

After kneeling in awe and worship at the manger of their newborn King, the shepherds had just left. They were so excited, so eager to go and tell others what had happened, sharing all they had seen and heard. I too, was so amazed, but I was much more introspective. I thought about everything that had happened, all the extraordinary things God had already done. I treasured it all in my heart, pondering it often. I knew who Jesus was and what He had come to do. But I couldn’t even begin to comprehend the magnitude of it all: God incarnate, here, to dwell on earth. I held the fullness of God in my arms. I looked into the beautiful eyes of the God who sees. I physically delivered the One who would eternally deliver me and everyone who calls upon His name. Who can possibly fathom the mind of God? Who is capable of understanding the ways of God? I tried to savor the present moment, desperately longing to be faithful to what was right in front of me.

There I was in a Bethlehem stable. I had just given birth… to the Savior of the world! I cried at my first sight of him – a bloody, sticky, newborn mess. And while I was physically pained by his birth, I was full of joy because he was here! I trembled as I breathed in that sweet smell of life and studied him as he lay in the wooden manger. I had no idea that this One sleeping soundly in a feeding trough would one day feed thousands of people with just a little bread and a couple fish; that this One born in Bethlehem, meaning “house of bread” was Himself the very Bread of Life. I took it all in, my mind and my heart overwhelmed, and my beloved Joseph by my side through all of it.

I saw the cradle…but the cross was coming. It was the very reason God sent His Son, the fulfillment of His redemptive plan. Thirty-three years later, I would stand no longer in Bethlehem, but at the base of a hill at Golgotha, watching them crucify the Savior to whom I had given birth. Again, I would weep at the sight of Him – this time a bloody, sticky, tortured mess. The sky that lit up with the radiant glory of God at the moment of His birth would fall black with darkness at the moment of His death. The pain I felt giving birth would be multiplied a hundredfold in his death.  I would tremble as I breathed in the stench of death and witnessed Him laid out on a wooden cross. The blood and water that covered Him in His birth would pour out of Him in His death. Again, I would take it all in, my mind and my heart overwhelmed. By then Joseph would be gone, and Jesus’ beloved disciple John would stand by my side through it all.

There was so much I didn’t know; so much I couldn’t know in the moment. The weight of it would have crushed me. But death will never have the final word. The sweet smell of life will return and the weeping will be tears of joy, because the Christ-child is also the Resurrection and the Life. The One who broke through the womb would also break through the tomb, bringing victory and life eternal. But for now God has given me this moment, this time to revel in the long-awaited birth of the Messiah, to worship the greatness of our God. Celebrate the gift of Christmas – Christ to us; Christ for us. I will continue to hide all these things in my heart, pondering the mighty works of God. I will treasure this gift of Life in my arms and thank God for choosing me to be His mother.