Happy Birthday Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus

In just a few seconds I'll get to the Talladega Nights, quote, but let me set the table first.  Wednesday night I had the pleasure of hearing missionary Mike Havlin speak.  I also love hearing missionaries speak, as they offer a different perspective on scripture as they live a very different life from the rest of us.  I consider myself a person of missions, but a full time missionary, they get my total respect, that's a life I can only begin to imagine.  Anyway the point he made was that when the wise men of the east went in search of Jesus, they weren't looking for a baby , they where looking for a king.  Matthew 2:2 says, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

Well there goes Ricky Bobby's prayer.  While hilarious there is a quite a bit of truth to his prayer and discussions with his father in law Chip.

Ricky Bobby: ... dear tiny Jesus, with your golden, fleece diapers, with your tiny little fat balled up fist

Chip: ... he was a man, he had a beard ...

Ricky Bobby:  ... look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me?

I think at times a lot of us fall into that category.  We like Jesus better as the baby.  A baby in his manger majestic enough for us to say we worship, but still small enough that we don't give him total control of our lives.  I've seen people posting various things this Christmas season that blew my mind.  It was a call for people to abounded the now politically correct "Happy Holidays" and instead want "Merry Christmas".  The mind blowing part though, was the foul language accompanying it.  Sorry, but when you wish someone a Merry Christmas and follow it up with a "m.f." you are not going to convince me the change in language is about honoring Christ Jesus.  Then how many other times in the year to you even acknowledge him?  I'm not trying to offend, but I take my Jesus seriously, after all this is the same man that died on the cross for me.

Speaking of dying on the cross, that is the other time of year when people seem to care about Jesus more than usual, Easter.  That's also the Jesus people seem to like almost as much as the "baby" Jesus.  He's beaten and bloody and nailed to a cross.  Yes he loved us, loved us to the point he was crucified, and now he's stuck on that cross.  With what he just did we have to love him, but since he's nailed up there and can't come down we don't have to obey him.  The thing is he did come down.  Not only did he come down, but while he was at it he conquered hell, death, and the grave.  Not a bad three days work.

So as you go to church in the morning to honor the day the Christ child was born, remember he grew up, like Chip said, "he was a man, he had a beard", but not only did he grow up, he grew up sinless, died for us, and rose again so that we can join him in Heaven someday.  The wise men didn't search for a baby, they went looking for a king.  Today wise men still do the same.