Jul. 30, 2009 - Whoa!
Usually after reading the Bible, I come away with ONE thought to chew on. Today I have TWO. Two things I have not considered before in light of the passage I read, Luke 2. This passage is common, yes. It is about JESUS' birth. But the thoughts I have to chew on are pretty worthwhile to me!
Thought number one:
Josepha and Mary are going down to Bethlehem to be counted for the census. She is ready to give birth anytime now. For whatever reason, I have always glossed over this next part. Joseph and Mary were ENGAGED. From the little I know of Biblical history, I know this stood as a legal marriage in their eyes, but they did NOT live together at this time. This was Joseph's time to be building the home for her. So, if they were traveling but not at a stage in their relationship where they were living together, what must people have thought about them going on the road together??? The trip certainly took more than one day; where did they sleep at night? Ooohhh, I can picture the gossip flying now.
Thought number two:
As Mary gives birth to JESUS, she is on the road. Did she pack JESUS any clothes? Did she even have clothes for HIM? I don't know what typical baby attire was then, but did she even have it? I'm assuming so, since it says she wrapped him in swaddling clothes. I have never thought about her thinking ahead as she's getting ready to leave, packing him a little "outfit".
However, that is not the thought that struck me so much. The thought that hit me was from Matthew Henry's commentary:
"The fulness of time was now come, when God would send forth his Son, made of a woman, and made under the law. The circumstances of his birth were very mean. Christ was born at an inn; he came into the world to sojourn here for awhile, as at an inn, and to teach us to do likewise. We are become by sin like an outcast infant, helpless and forlorn; and such a one was Christ. He well knew how unwilling we are to be meanly lodged, clothed, or fed; how we desire to have our children decorated and indulged; how apt the poor are to envy the rich, and how prone the rich to disdain the poor. But when we by faith view the Son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, ambition, and envy are checked. We cannot, with this object rightly before us, seek great things for ourselves or our children. (Luke 2:8-20)"
How guilty are we of indulging our children? That sounds so foreign to us here in America, I believe. Our goal is to give them the best, to sacrifice for them to make their lives easier. But how much of a disservice are we doing them by doing that? Perhaps that is an unrecognized sin? If we can provide them with food and shelter, should we not be content? Are we not feeding their inheritently sinful, gluttonous natures? Are we not feeding the lie that they are the "center of the universe"?
I need to think on this one, LORD. Open my eyes to see where I am doing them a disservice, where I am feeding their sinful natures. Show me how to teach them contentedness with the bare essentials. I know I am guilty myself of wanting more. Don't let this one pass me by, LORD. Break the grasp that materialism has on my children.
And, LORD, when did Joseph and Mary actually get married??? Hmmm....
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