Well, Baby Jesus was lost!
When Gracie was a toddler, we made a simple, wooden nativity set for her to learn about Baby Jesus.
I used wooden pieces that were rectangles and were different heights for the bodies. Gracie and I picked out material from my sewing scraps for clothes for them to represent Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men. We used some square wooden pieces to make animals and a special small rectangle to represent Baby Jesus in the cradle.
Markers were used for faces and details. A woman with a hot glue gun can do most anything, and so it all came together.
Gracie loved it. She put it under her tree. She got it out and played with them all over the house. The little set got quite ragged with use, but that was what they were for.
On a recent visit I saw our little nativity setup on the bookcase. But Baby Jesus wasn’t there! During play time over the years, He had disappeared!
This year with little Addie two and half years old, we will create a new nativity for her to be able to play with and use to learn the Christmas story.
Thinking about what happened to the nativity set, I wonder how many homes in America have nativity sets? How many people know the real reason for celebration and giving gifts?
Have we lost Baby Jesus? In reality?
The Bible tells us: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
The miracle of Christ’s birth is recorded in the Bible in the books of Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 2: 1-20. This year you can read these verses with your family to help everyone learn or remember the true reason for Christmas. The verses are easy to understand, and you can find a version of the Bible that is like today’s English.
The coming of the Savior is God’s plan to provide mankind a way to understand what God is like, how God wants us to live, who man is, what sin in, the results of sin, and all those eternal questions we all have. The baby was born to be the sacrifice for our sins. The baby Jesus was born to defeat death and rise from the grave conquering death for all time. The baby Jesus ascended again to His Father and prepares a place for his followers who believe in Him and have made Him Lord.
How could He be lost?
For if He is, we certainly are.
Remember, meditate, and rejoice in the presence of Baby Jesus this Christmas!
