The First Noel

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said

through the prophet:  The virgin will be with child, and

will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel –

which means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:23

Yesterday in Los Angeles, a press conference was called for a tiny baby girl named Melinda.  Yesterday was supposed to have been her birth date.  Instead, she was born four months early at 24 weeks, weighing less than a can of soda, fitting neatly into her doctor’s palm.  She did not have fully working eyes or lungs.  Her skin was so thin that it could not keep out infections.  Her chance of survival was around 2%.  Survive she did, however, thanks to advanced medical machinery, the love and prayers of her parents, and the wisdom and skill of her doctors.  Melinda now weighs four pounds, and her release date from the hospital might come as early as New Year’s. 

It is almost impossible to wrap one’s head around the thought of God coming to earth as a human infant.  The Creator of the universe in diapers?  Many of the people at that time couldn’t buy it – those who proclaimed, “Whad-a-ya mean, Messiah?  This is Joseph’s kid!”  There was no way the boy next door could be the deliverer of Israel!  And the circumstances surrounding his birth?  “Yeah, right – virgin birth, my eye!”  There were those, however, who came to believe that Jesus was exactly who He said He was.  When the Savior directly asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”