For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 Isaiah 9:6-7 Amplified

I just love this season of the year when we reflect on this beautiful truth concerning the birth and life of our Lord. Some say Jesus wasn’t born in December possibly September or the springtime when the shepherds led their flock out to pasture. But whatever month or time it was, I am so grateful that the King of Glory, the Mighty God, and the Prince of Peace came into our planet and was born and was given. As I read the scripture, I meditated on two verbs, born, and given, which are quite different. What I discovered in God’s plan; both were necessary.

Jesus the Son of Man “Born”

Our Lord Jesus came into the world not of noble birth but as a lowly baby born in a stable. His mother, Mary, laid Him in a manger or trough used to feed livestock; there He slept. In Jesus’s stable, domestic animals slept and ate, the stall was covered in manure. The stall was a place where the lost, homeless, bandits, and ruthless hid out. Why would God choose to be born in such a detestable place? The answer is FOR US! Jesus came to identify with all our humanity from the least to the greatest; He came as a God who was approachable by all! Unlike the God of the Old Testament, only a few human beings could converse and have a relationship with God Almighty. But now in the manger, God was a fragile baby, clothed in humanity to become vulnerable so He could identify with us, and we could identify with Him in our human experience in this dark and lost world.

 Jesus was born as a child to:

• Meet us where we live, no matter our status, race, or intellectual abilities.
• Understand through our experiences in this world.
• Connect with us in a more intimate sense than in the Old Testament.
• Reveal to us who He is and His True character one of love and mercy.
• To unveil what our Heavenly Father is really like.
• To demonstrate how much, He loves us through giving of Himself and life.

Jesus the Son of Man “Given”

Jesus came into this world under very humble circumstances. He also matured from childhood to being a mature Son to give Himself away to humanity and to become ONE with humanity.

And Jesus grew (matured) in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

 Luke 2:52 New International Version

 

Jesus came as Son of Man to give us:

• His Abundant Life – We were all born dead in trespasses and sin.
• His Love – We all have a deep need to be loved and accepted.
• His Grace – To empower and strengthen us through difficulties.
• His Truth – The world is ruled by the evil one who has deceived humanity with his lies.
• His Light – We live in a dark and blinding world, and we can’t see where we are going without Him.
• Himself – He is the Fullness of God who longs to live and breathe His Divine Life every moment of the day through us. He came to BE the Great I AM within us!
  

Jesus the Son of God

Not only was Jesus called the “Son of Man” a title used to depict His humanity. He identified with our human weaknesses and frailties as He lived in an earthly body. He was also called the “Son of God,” depicting His Divinity and Unity with the Triune Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

Jesus came as a Son of God to give us:

• Authority over the power of sin, flesh, and the evil one in our lives.
• Freedom from every chain that holds us captive.
• Healing of our wounds and broken hearts.
• Restoration of our Oneness with our Father and the Holy Spirit.
• The removal of all the walls that separate us from our God and each other.
• Fulfillment of all the promises He made to His Father.
• Give Himself as a ransom to redeem all of humanity to Himself.

This Christmas season may you always remember the greatest gift our Father gave to us, Jesus Christ. As a baby, He wore strips of torn cloth (swaddling clothes). Yet underneath those clothes was the King of Glory adorned in a Robe of Righteousness to cover our sins and restore us to ROYALTY.

“THE GREATEST GIFT OUR FATHER GAVE US WAS … JESUS HIMSELF!“