Wrapped Up (ADVENT-URE 20: Swaddling Clothes)

The Psalmist reinforces the importance of holding tightly to the Word of God in Psalm 119:
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!
12 Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes!
13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.

In the Christmas narrative, we read about how Mary wrapped the baby Jesus in "swaddling clothes." While we do not know and experience the physical Jesus, we do know Him as the Word who became flesh, and His presence resides in our hearts.  We can grow in our relationship with Him as we hold tightly to His principles, as we hold Him in high regard in our hearts.  We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices, renewing our minds through His Word.

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God's incredible love gift to us was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger, according to the Christmas narrative.  I have selected 25 symbols that remind us of the coming of Jesus and its significance - symbols from the Old Testament, as well as the Christmas narrative that we find in the New.  We began with the apple, the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, and highlighted the Ark of Noah and the Ark of the Covenant...the robe of the priest to the red cord of Rahab.  The lamb that greeted Abraham and Isaac to the ladder Jacob saw.  In many instances, the symbols corresponded to people, people who presented themselves to God.

The theme Scripture for today is again Luke 2, verses 6 and 7:
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Mary wrapped her child in "swaddling" clothes.  The website, BabyCenter.com, elaborates on this practice:

Swaddling is the art of snugly wrapping a baby in a blanket for warmth and security. It can keep your baby from being disturbed by her own startle reflex, and it can help her stay warm and toasty for the first few days of life until her internal thermostat kicks in. It may even help to calm your baby.

Jesus, while totally God, was also totally human - he was the incarnation.  And, this extraordinary baby was treated in an ordinary, yet caring way.  And, as Mary took great care with her newborn child, so we can be challenged to take care of the presence of Jesus in our hearts, and to hold His principles very tightly.

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Several weeks ago, around Veteran's Day, I had on The Meeting House Dan Wallrath, who has an extensive background in construction.  He founded the organization Operation Finally Home, in order to help veterans and their families acquire housing.  His efforts yielded him the recognition as a CNN Hero.

The latest assortment of Heroes was recognized recently by the cable channel. And, the "Hero of the Year" said this in his acceptance speech, according to CNN:

"Today I realize God chose me to help children with disabilities and their families and build a chain of dreams. I am about to graduate as a lawyer, and I want to do more to change my country's laws."

His name is Jeison Aristizábal,  He is from one of the poorest areas in the city of Cali in Colombia. The CNN story said that: "waging a constant battle with cerebral palsy, the world seemed dead set against him."  He is quoted as saying: "When I was a young boy, a doctor told my mom that I would amount to nothing."

The story goes on:

Family support and a dogged spirit helped Aristizábal gain independence, and he set out to ensure other disabled youth could do the same. Launching a disability-advocacy foundation out of his parents' garage was one of the first steps in a journey that's taken him to law school and across the world.

Now Aristizábal has been named the 2016 CNN Hero of the Year for his work providing educational and medical support for youth living with disabilities in Colombia.  This 33-year-old has some insight about being a difference-maker: "Sometimes when we see a big problem, we feel like we can't do something," adding, "But starting with the little things, helping fix the little things, we can transform many lives."

The lesson, I think, is clear for us, as we seek to overcome our own challenges, our barriers to doing God's will, pushing through so that God might be glorified in each of us.

One of the things we can do is to recognize the call of God on our lives.  He has extended His love to us, and He has wrapped us up in His arms with great care, but also with a great calling.  He desires for us to yield to His Spirit so that He might be glorified in us.

And, we can regard ourselves as children of God through Christ.  We have to believe what the Bible says about Him - and about us.  We can take care to enter into that love relationship with Jesus and to be submissive to His direction for us.

Also, we can receive the power and principles of God in our hearts.  God wraps us in His love and grace and calls us to present ourselves to Him.  He also desires for us to exercise great care over what He has entrusted to us.  We carry with us the presence of Jesus, and we can be challenged to hold to His truth - tenaciously.