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“Rational behavior is not one of our trademarks.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2016-09-13) from his book, Because of Bethlehem (with Bonus Content): Love Is Born, Hope Is Here (p. 13). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is so true isn’t it?

Max says, “Rational behavior is not one of our trademarks. But if you want to see people on the edge of insanity, just watch the way families treat their babies at Christmastime.”

He goes on, “The poor child has no warning. He is just starting to recover from the slide down the birth canal when the family begins decorating him as if he were a puppy in the dog parade. Red furry stocking cap with a white ball on the end. Goofy elfish shoes that curl at the toes. When this baby becomes a teen and wears baggy jeans and sports a tattoo, grown-ups will groan at the sight. But dress a six-month-old in suspenders and reindeer antlers? That’s cute. And the gifts we give. The little one can’t get out of her crib, yet ever-earnest Mommy has her hooked on phonics. He can’t even walk without help, and Grandpa gives him a Louisville Slugger baseball bat.”

“We make such a fuss! Bring the baby into a room, and everything changes. Grandma reaches up. Grandpa wakes up. Conversation shifts from politics and presidents to Pampers and pacifiers. This time of year babies take center stage. And well they should. Is not Christmas the story of a baby?”

“On a starlit night in the company of sheep, cattle, and a bewildered Joseph, Mary’s eyes fell upon the face of her just-born son. She was bone weary, surely. In pain, likely. Ready to place her head on the straw and sleep the rest of the night away, probably. But first Mary had to see this face. His face. To wipe the moisture from his mouth and feel the shape of his chin. To be the first to whisper, ‘So this is what God looks like.’  Jesus entered our world not like a human but as a human.”  And he came as a baby.

Max then says, “Gaze where Mary gazed. Look into God’s face and be assured. If the King was willing to enter the world of animals and shepherds and swaddling clothes, don’t you think he’s willing to enter yours? He took on your face in the hope that you would see his.'”


Let’s celebrate the greatest gift that has ever been given.  Ok?  Ok!
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