Your own baby may not receive any royal visitors, but he or she is no less special in your eyes. He echoes the innocence and magic of that first Christmas. She reminds you that the miracle of birth is just as magical today as it was so long ago, in a humble Bethlehem stable. And if Christ represents God's love for us, there's nothing like a baby to remind us of the existence of a love so pure and unbounded, at times it seems almost astounding.
Christmas is a time for sentimentality and reflection, and there's nothing like a new baby to bring out the softie in a guy. Babies have a way of eroding a man's stoicism and turning an unemotional, analytical male into a simpering mass of tender emotionalism. Perhaps it's nature's way of insuring that we will protect our children at all costs, against all odds, with no thought for our own comfort or safety. Or perhaps we're just blessed to be able to experience feelings that take us beyond ourselves; to put us in a place where we think of another before ourselves. Whatever the reason, there can be no doubt. Show me a man who has bonded with his infant and I'll show you a tender softie who will transform in an instant into a fierce protector, should the occasion arise.
Which makes it all the more poignant when you realize that God gave his only son to the world, knowing full well the sacrifice that would ultimately be required. If that doesn't demonstrate God's love for his children, then nothing can. Fortunately, no one requires you to sacrifice your child. And you needn't even believe in Christ to understand the kind of love that God has for us, for it is surely something very much like the love you feel when you hold your baby and rock him to sleep on a cold winter's night. Pure. Intense. Vaster than the vault of heaven, studded with stars, above. And more eternal, even, than those very stars. Merry Christmas and God bless. Peace to you and yours. Shalom. Amen.
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