"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." 1 John 4:9
I painted this Nativity backdrop about ten years ago and every year since then it has been hung in various schools and churches, waiting for the story of a Father's love for his children to be retold by excited children.
Apart from one unusual year, (when a three year old Mary dumped the baby "Jesus" into Joseph's arms, stripped off her costume and ran off the stage refusing to return and leaving Joseph as a single parent), every year as I watch a different Mary lovingly place a doll into a straw filled manger or cradling him in her arms, I think of our Father in heaven showing us His love by sending his son as a weak, helpless baby, who was both truly God and truly man; God becoming flesh and making his dwelling among us.
This baby, Jesus, showed us, even as he grew up into a man, what it looked like to be childlike and dependent on Father God, he showed us in himself the very nature of his Father, and provided us with the way to know our loving Father too.
The legendary Santa, we are led to believe, only brings gifts to children who have been good, but like the shepherds we have good news of great joy that will be for all the people, because we've been shown that not one of us is excluded from being a child of this merciful and loving Father. He loved us before we were ever born and had done anything , "naughty or nice". He IS loving each one of us right now, whoever we are and whether we know Him or not. Jesus, himself said, "For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” This is definitely"GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for ALL the people" ; a father's love for his children revealed; may we all experience it more every day through this season of Advent, Christmas and through the coming New Year..
I painted this Nativity backdrop about ten years ago and every year since then it has been hung in various schools and churches, waiting for the story of a Father's love for his children to be retold by excited children.
Apart from one unusual year, (when a three year old Mary dumped the baby "Jesus" into Joseph's arms, stripped off her costume and ran off the stage refusing to return and leaving Joseph as a single parent), every year as I watch a different Mary lovingly place a doll into a straw filled manger or cradling him in her arms, I think of our Father in heaven showing us His love by sending his son as a weak, helpless baby, who was both truly God and truly man; God becoming flesh and making his dwelling among us.
This baby, Jesus, showed us, even as he grew up into a man, what it looked like to be childlike and dependent on Father God, he showed us in himself the very nature of his Father, and provided us with the way to know our loving Father too.
The legendary Santa, we are led to believe, only brings gifts to children who have been good, but like the shepherds we have good news of great joy that will be for all the people, because we've been shown that not one of us is excluded from being a child of this merciful and loving Father. He loved us before we were ever born and had done anything , "naughty or nice". He IS loving each one of us right now, whoever we are and whether we know Him or not. Jesus, himself said, "For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” This is definitely"GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for ALL the people" ; a father's love for his children revealed; may we all experience it more every day through this season of Advent, Christmas and through the coming New Year..
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