Born a baby, coming as king.

We celebrate the birth of Christ each Christmas. We etch a beautiful picture in our mind of a baby laying in a manger, the Savior Jesus becoming a man to save people from their sins. We often romanticize this event, when in reality, His birth took place in a very chaotic time, in the most difficult and hostile circumstances.

Before his birth, an emperor decides to take a survey of his citizens which forces his parents to travel a great distance. After becoming a vulnerable child, who is cared for by his imperfect parents, Jesus quickly becomes the target of a mass killing ordered by King Herod. His birth takes place in a dirty feeding trough found in a dark and dreary cave or a stable.

From a our perspective, it seemed like everything was going wrong. However, God was in control of absolutely everything. For it wasn't just a man that was born on that night, it was the infinite Creator himself, taking on the body of a finite and fragile baby. It was Jesus who created his own body of flesh, which he was going to use for the next 33 years on the Earth, which He had also created.

Jesus was born as a baby unto all sinners. He has humbled himself to the very lowest point. However, He is not that same baby today as he was on His first day. He is King over everything. Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. There is nothing that He does not have control over.

As I celebrate Christmas this year, I want to be mindful of who I am worshiping. I must see Jesus as the one who once gave everything He had and became weak and powerless in the form of a little baby, but now, rules over all creation and has authority over everything. He is now ruling and He will come. And when He comes, he will come as a King.