LEARNING DAILY

Luke 2:6, And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

One of the things I have enjoyed most about Christmas is having the family together. Look in the middle of the nativity and you will find a little family. Christmas is about family. God entrusted His own son to a human family, just like yours. He could have circumvented the family, but He did not. God put His own stamp of approval on the family” (O. S. Hawkins). I like that!

I really did not understand the importance of family until I had my own. I think back and remember wanting to be home for Christmas. One Christmas there was a major snow storm the day before Christmas that closed roads due to blowing snow. But, Christmas day, I loaded the four of us and our presents up in our old 4-wheel pickup and drove down the path created by another vehicle. We drove the entire forty miles with hardly seeing another vehicle except a snowplow. By the way, that snowplow was stuck in all the snow it had piled up. We wanted to be home with our parents and grandparents.

Family is important to God! Can you imagine the scene where God’s Son entered the world, into a family relationship. Yes, it was a very humble and modest setting. He was placed in a manger surrounded by animals, into the hands of a mother and a father that had little idea about the future, but who had pledged to do their very best to raise their son, the Son of God. It was a family like yours and mine who had to deal with relationships and all the responsibilities that come with family and living life.

The story of Jesus’ birth to these parents speaks of the qualities of love, compassion, and selflessness that come with family. It is a story that should challenge each of us to consider what is important in this life and reflect on simplicity and humility that is often overlooked in this world so obsessed with creating wealth, prestige, and power.

Family was important to Jesus as well. As He was nailed to a cross, Jesus looked upon His mother and instructed the disciple, John, to take care of her. During His suffering, Jesus’ deep love and compassion for Mary is shown as He entrusts her care to John. This act teaches us the importance of looking after those we love – even in the most difficult of circumstances. It also should help Believers consider how to take care of those in need around them. Jesus is teaching Believers today through this simple act that they are to treat one another as family; a family not necessarily one by blood but instead bound together through faith and their commitment to Him.

I am going to close with another thought by O. S. Hawkins. “Make sure you hold your family close to your heart and do not be hesitant to say, “I love you.”