Miracle of the Christmas Scar

Christmas, a time to celebrate. And remember. Angels. Wisemen. Stars. Sounds familiar, right? But a scar? What's the connection with miracles? Or with the baby boy born in Bethlehem. Well, you see, the baby was born with this scar in His heart. And as He grew so did the scar. Actually, though, the scar existed before God sent His sweet Son into the world. It happened kind of like this: God loved us. So much. Yet we sinned against Him. We didn't want to sin. Not really. Just sort of we did. But Satan. Now that's a different story. No doubt at all that he wanted us to sin over and over and over. Yeah, the battle between good and evil continued. Because in spite of our tendency to sin, God kept on loving us. So much. That He was willing to fight for us. That's how the scar started. In His heart first. His loving heart. Since the beginning of time, God knew about the on-going battle. And about the scar. He saw that the scar could be a life-line. So He sent His only Son. To Bethlehem first. Later to Jerusalem. So that everyone would know about the Father's great love. But from the Son's birth, we all rejected Him. From King Herod--who in an attempt to kill Jesus--ordered the murder of all baby boys two-years-old and under in Bethlehen and in the surrounding districts. To the religious leaders of the day who questioned Christ's teaching and preaching. His authority. His power. His miracles. That He was their promised Messiah. To His own family who misunderstood Him. Once, some family members went out searching for Him to take charge of Him because they thought that He had lost His mind. To Nazareth. Christ's homeboys. They didn't want Him. Not many miracles happened there. To His disciples. You know their sad saga. Remember the garden. Too sleepy to pray. And the trial. How scared they were. To the world. They didn't need God. Thought that they were good enough already. To us. And our many mistakes. Do we have to go there? With each stab of rejection, humiliation, and being misunderstood that our Savior endured, the scar took on the shape of a cross. Like the one that He carried. For all of them. And for me. And you. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53: 5). The Christmas scar. Runs deep. Sacred. Saving. Loving. Healing. A miracle! Abba, thank you for the miracle of salvation. For taking our punishment. For giving us Your peace. Will you take our scars--emotional and physical? And give us peace and healing. In Jesus' name. Amen. Sweet dreams, Deb