The Babe

By Elizabeth Prata

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7).

Think of Jesus, divesting Himself of His majesty agreeing to become flesh. To incarnate. He lowered himself from His throne as King of all the universe, to be born as helpless babe, in poverty, in obscurity. He didn’t come as a boy, able to run away from danger or to feed and manage for himself. He didn’t come as a man, able to protect himself from dangers all around. He came as a newborn baby. Totally helpless. Total reliance on others.

His willingness to be a babe and completely depend on his earthly parents for sustenance, protection, and life itself, and to rely on His heavenly Father’s plan for Him to be born, live, teach, and die, is amazing.

This is a Godly picture for us. Whether we are saved at age 6 or age 42, we are totally reliant on God. Whether we know Him as God or not, His sovereignty means that even our next breath is dependent upon Him. After we come to know Him, we realize JUST how dependent up Him we are. We are as newborn babes. Even if we are white haired elderly Christians, even if we have lived totally alone for decades as self-sufficient adults, we need Him. Why? We are as helpless as a newborn when confronting our sin. We’re as reliant on Jesus to reconcile with God as a child crossing the street needs his father’s hand. We need Him when trying to love our enemies. We’re depending on Him to help us love Him with all our strength, all our might, all our soul. We can’t do it. We can’t. A baby can’t dress himself, clothe himself, or even walk by himself. And we are those babes, needing our heavenly Father for our every move.

We need Him for everything. And this is good, for He IS our All in All. (Colossians 3:11b)