The Image Of The Christ Child

The Image Of The Christ Child

Talk about timing!  The greatest event in the history of man and a handful of shepherds, a man who was not his dad and the odd angel there to witness it.

I mean, where was the media?  Wall to wall coverage and a minute by minute update as the birth canal widened to herald God becoming man.   Twitter, Facebook and all the other social media sites bursting to breaking point with millions giving the definitive and most accurate insight into the true meaning of the event.

Why wasn't the child born somewhere he could have gained more attention.  Heck! It took a paranoid puppet king to even give him a mention.  Ok, they didn't have a good spin doctor.  Someone to advise Mary & Joseph and guide them through the endless mire of interviews, but what about the Angels, what about the Holy Spirit, what about the true father… God himself.  What were they thinking?   So many opportunities gone begging; you begin to wonder at the planning. 

Imagine if the Roman Emperor had had the vision.  Imagine if the child had been born in a royal palace somewhere amidst the biggest media circus the Emperor and his impressive contacts could muster.  Better still wait two thousand years and make full use of the instant global impact of modern technology and the highly polished art of propelling an unknown, unwanted into a must-have accessory that everyone would crave.  If the Christ Child had been properly marketed, he could have sold himself to BILLIONS not dozens. 

Christmas is a time of wanting, craving and longing.  The tinsel and the glitz surround a time of false-hearted warmth and supposed good will to men.  We are sold an impossible dream.  Just like the pot of gold at the ever shifting end of the rainbow, it is always just out of reach.

So, to go back to the beginning.  A child born in poverty in a scruffy stable, and probably a smelly, cold one at that.  Almost snuffed out at birth, his road had to be a rocky and lonely one.  Not only did God embrace humility that night, he gave us a sign.  I don’ mean the much copied star. I mean a message so simple, so clear it shouts out to us that Christ became one of us because he loves us, because he understands us and because he wants us to understand the true meaning of his message and his gift to all of us; unconditional love and hope for all time to come.

We are surrounded by so much falseness now that the truth and the meaning of life has almost been lost.  Yes, God knew what he was doing by sending his only son in such a way.  I came from a humble background where life had to be simple.  I almost lost my way too in all the sparkle. 

My Christmas this year will be spent loving others if I can.  Something Jesus has never stopped doing.  I will unwrap the greatest gift of all and what is wonderful about this gift is that I can open it again on Boxing Day, the day after and after… The only post-Christmas let down for me is when I forget to open it and more importantly share it.  Just like God did, and still does.