At a time of year celebrated for the spirit of birth, gift giving and the wonder of the Family, it is hardly surprising that we are spending this Christmas surrounded by self obsessed Globalists who are supporters of abortion, who hate the concept of Family and only like taking what belongs to others.
God was wise to send Jesus to Bethlehem before the advent of " Planned Parenthood " - otherwise who knows what would have happened to the world. In some respects, when Herrod ordered the slaughter of every male child so that he could avoid the prophesy of the child who would grow up to become King .... he was an early advocate for late term abortion. No matter that the little boys were already born ... kill them anyway.
I have always believed that Christmas is a celebration of Life, birth and the miracle of Motherhood. In a modern context, the birth of one of the most famous figures in history - Jesus Christ - is made all the more remarkable in that it happened in a stable, in poverty and against all odds. When compared with the pomp and ceremony today when a mother is carefully tended in sterile conditions in a hospital bed surrounded by attendant well trained staff, the miracle of the birth of this little lad is quite a staggering achievement.
Mary had travelled over the desert , heavily pregnant and she and Joseph would no doubt have welcomed a $ 600 cash injection to their no doubt impoverished circumstance. But they had to make Bethlehem in time for the census, and time was not on their side. Because the town was booked out due to the influx of citizens who were obligated by law to return to their hometown for the census, the young couple were fortunate to find someone prepared to give them a bed of straw for the night.
I was lying in my comfy bed last night, pondering the sheer enormity of the responsibility Joseph must have felt that day in Bethlehem. No mates, no hospital, no money, no welfare cheque due and no Salvation Army or Charity to ring and say " mate, I need help. My wife is 9 months pregnant, just about to go in to labour; I have nowhere to stay, no friends to call on and I could really do with a bit of support. "
They were on their own.
When Mary gave birth to little Jesus, it must have felt like the most wonderful day... but also what a terrifying responsibility. This precious infant, in a barn wrapped in whatever they could lay their hands on....... it would have been a character defining moment.
I cannot imagine how they felt when three strangers walked in bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold would be literally and metaphorically a Godsend. The frankincense and myrrh expensive but essential medicinal oils that would keep the child safe and healthy. The gifts were not a rattle, a bauble or a trinket: they were things that would ensure that Jesus would grow up free of infection, disease or hunger.
Before I dozed off and fell asleep, my mind went on to think of all of the little lives terminated each year because it was inconvenient for the mother to have a child. How many great men and women have been snuffed out like a candle and not given the Right to a life lived and a potential fulfilled?
How many of us today are reading this because our parents CHOSE to allow us to live? To breathe? To grow to adulthood and become who we are?
Some of us have achieved little in life; others a great deal. But one of the greatest achievements many of us have to feel proud of is that we in turn have created a new life. Our role may not have been to be outstanding, but perhaps we did something to allow someone else to be outstanding? By creating children or it may have been a chance encounter where we said something or did something that altered another life for the better?
Dr Ben Carson grew up in what he describes as “dire poverty.” At age 33, he became the youngest doctor in Johns Hopkins Hospital’s history to head a division when he was appointed director of pediatric neurosurgery. He inspired a made for TV movie called Gifted Hands starring Cuba Gooding Jr. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2008.
Today, I celebrate. Not a tree festooned with trinkets and baubles or a table about to collapse under the weight of a feast of abundant plenty; not a stack of expensively and lavishly wrapped gifts that will, more often than not, be in the bin before New Years Day; no, today I ponder the courage and love of a young couple 2020 years ago who, against all odds, had a little boy who grew up to change the world.
But we should never forget those who gave us one thing we take for granted.
The people who gave us the greatest gift of all: LIFE.
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