by: Dorothy N. Snyder
12/1/2007

A roving reporter stopped six people on the sidewalks of New York and asked, "What was the most important happening in history?" The replies were as varied as one might expect: One man said, "The settlement of Jamestown by the English." A lady said, "The defeat of he Muslims when they opposed the Crusades." Another said, "The splitting of the atom." Still another, "The defeat of the Japanese in World War II." And another, a mechanically minded man, said, "The invention of the wheel."

It remained for a fourteen year old school boy to come up with the sixth answer, "The birth of Jesus Christ." Though Advent and Christmas are to honor that pivotal time in history, the world often crowds Him out.

God chose the natural birth of a baby to reveal the spiritual truth of a Savior. And heaven announced His arrival angles and heavenly songs and shepherds appearing at the stable to worship the newborn King. God chose the natural a star to guide the wise men from the East, and an encounter with the spiritual changed their lives.

The world was ready for a Redeemer. Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon. And Greek and Roman culture brought a common language, democracy, and a road system for expansion. Christ's coming fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah who would save the world from the tragedy of its sins. It also unveiled the mystery of a new relationship between God and Man. Jesus' teachings often used the realities of nature to illustrate a spiritual truth. His death and resurrection forever changed and empowered His followers of all ages to rise above the powers that could defeat them.

The question of the ages continues: "Where is He?" Sometimes it is hard to find Him among the glitter and sparkles, the Santa Clauses, and the dollar signs. Have we allowed the "natural" with its explosion science and technology to temporarily eclipse the power of the One born in the manger, Immanuel.

I join the little boy who thought Jesus' birth was all important. There is glory and a wonder and a beauty to Advent. Let us bow before the manger and let the kernel of Christmas explode in our midst. It is His birthday we celebrate! Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus!