On this Christmas Day we remember what God has done for us. He sent his "only" son into the world knowing that his beloved little child would one day be a sacrifice for our sins.
As I thought of this I remember how much love I have for my son and how we almost lost him just about 14 years ago. As he was under an oxygen tent fighting for his life, I was fervently praying that God would hear my prayer and heal my only son. As I was praying, Will reached out with his tiny hand and held my little finger from under the tent and he never let go. He looked into my eyes with his and never looked away. It was as if God was telling me, "I have heard your prayers and I will save your son!" It was a miracle in how his lung attached and he was able to breath on his own. It was an answer to prayer that I am so so very thankful for. All I have to do is to think of those precious moments and days after Will's birth, and of the many days, weeks and years that followed with the growing love and joy that he has brought into our lives. There are times now that I look up too.
him, at his towering 6' frame and I reach over and grasp his big hand and then reach down and hold his little finger. Will then looks over at me and knows what that means and he gives me a warm understanding smile of recognition. He knows that as his father, I love him more than life itself, and that I will never let go of that love for him.
I see now in how God loved "his" only son, but for him to know ahead of time that his little baby would one day lay his own life down for us; for Jesus to do so willingly, I can only imagine how much pain was in God's heart at that moment. For God to see Jesus go through all the agony and pain that he would endure for us, it must have broken God's heart. Since God could not look at sin, he turned his back when Jesus bore our sin for us on the cross. I now realize that it must have broken both of their hearts that day. But, God and his son knew that it was the only way for our salvation. Oh how God loves you and me to give us his only son that we might accept him and come to live with him forever. Even knowing this now, I have only an inkling of his love for us. Thank you Father for loving us so much that you would give your only son for our sins. I know that you too held your little baby's hand in the manger that day of your son's birth, and you were willing to let go of it for a short time in order for you to gather your children to yourself.
John 3:16. "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
