The Royal Baby and the Humiliating Birth of Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

This week a royal baby was born and the world has been buzzing with a mixture of curiosity and awe. This first born son of Kate Middleton and Prince William is in direct line to the British throne and in all likelihood, will one day be king. The sensation around his birth brought to mind the birth of another “Royal Baby.” The incarnation of Jesus Christ, revealed some two thousand years ago, was a more quiet event – and in many ways, a humiliating one.

In the birth of Christ, we find a pre-existent King – the very God of very God; He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14), co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him” (1 Colossians1:16).  This is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords! And yet He conceals His deity, leaves His glory and submits to the limits of flesh as the humble son of a peasant girl living in subjection and abject poverty. Simply amazing! It is the mystery of what of the J.I. Packer calls the great act of condescension and self-humbling.

You would remember of course that this great act of condescension is not limited to His birth but is the reality of His life. Mary’s lowly baby does not grow up to opulence but quietly grows in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man(Luke 2:52); He lives a sinless life and in the end suffers the humiliating death of crucifixion. All this for what, some might ask?

The Scripture states that in the fullness of time, the Father sends His Son, born of woman, to redeem His enemies and make them children of God (Galatians 4:4-5). Simply put, “It pleased the LORD to crush Him and put Him to grief … he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him (Isaiah 53:5-10). This Royal Baby was born to be crushed that we might be raised up. He was made poor that we might be made rich. He took on sin on the cross that we might be clothed in His righteousness. He descended that we might ascend one day in Him to partake in His exaltation and His glory (Romans 8:16-17; Philippians 2:9-11). And this also was pleasing to the Father.

As the world celebrates the birth of England’s royal baby, I am reminded of the humble birth of a King, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And while there were no flashing cameras to greet Him, we know that the sky itself shown with the glory of God, the adoring voices of multitudes of angels bellowed from the heavens (Luke 2:8-14), and gifts testifying of His majesty were brought from afar (Matthew 2:1-12). This was indeed the very God of very God! For even in themidst of His great humiliation, His exaltation and glory is seen! Oh come, let us adore Him!

Grown-up Prayer Requests, Part 1

My husband blogs at http://antiordinary74.blogspot.com and recently posted some thoughts on our daughter and prayer. Enjoy!

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The last few months of fatherhood have been exciting and rewarding.  As my wife and I count down to our daughter Jael's 2nd birthday next Wednesday, its only natural to reflect on the milestones we've seen over the last 51 weeks.  One of the many milestones is the beginning of clear speech.

For sure, Jael has learned ways of getting her point across before she discovered words.  But its exciting to witness how she makes the connection between words/names and the objects and persons they describe or refer to.  I have also taken note of the first word that I have heard her use with extreme emphasis and intentional regularity.  That word?

EEEEEAT!

She knows what shoes are and if I ask her to go get her shoes, she'll gladly get them.  But she won't say "shoe".  She knows what brushing her teeth means, but she won't say "brush" or "teeth".  She's aware of other words too, but she hardly uses them.  But when it comes to food and eating, she's got that locked.

It makes sense, of course, because it's an immediate need.  It's also a legitimate need.  Not to mention the fact that it also brings her great pleasure to eat just about anything that her mother lovingly provides.   Since hunger comes suddenly and is both imperative and pleasurable to address, it is all important to learn how to attain the answer for all three.  We can see then, how a child is motivated to learn how to communicate with the goal of satisfying these three things.

You can finish this article at: http://antiordinary74.blogspot.com/2013/07/grown-up-prayer-requests-part-1.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fstjjb+%28Contra+Mundum%29