Those Who Met the Infant Jesus [Christmas]

Because of the census, Joseph and Mary leave home and go up to Bethlehem, where the child is born and laid not in an inn but in a manger. Shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night are the first to hear the news, brought to them by an angel, while the wise men from the East follow a star to worship the child, offering gold, frankincense and myrrh.

All of this came to pass exactly as it had been ordained long before. The poor and lowly manger does not conceal that this King is the God who was from the beginning; rather, it reveals it. A man named Simeon lived holding fast to the word that he would see the Christ before he died, and only when he met the child in the temple did he confess that he could now depart in peace.

Those bound by the belief that salvation comes by keeping the law are not free. Only those who, like Simeon, believe the word and walk with the Holy Spirit enjoy freedom in the truth, and in due time encounter the Christ. Like those who received Jesus in faith at his first coming, the task left to us today is to wait in faith for the Christ who will come again, living righteous and godly lives.