It is hard to conceive that more than 5 decades have gone by since I was 5 years old.  In one of my earliest memories I can picture myself, lying on my back, looking upward from the floor into the branches of a tall Christmas tree filled with colored lights and ornaments.

Although much time and people have passed since then, remembering Christmas time through the eyes of a child brings back moments of nostalgic delight, as I hope it does for you.

Oh if life were only so simple and whimsical.  But we all know this is not the case because as we prepare for Christmas, there is more happening in our lives individually and collectively than childhood memories, charming characters in Children’s Classics, and fun, joy, and silliness.

In the midst of our many blessings and abundance, we each have unique challenges to confront.  On top of that, we live in the midst of a very troubled world.  A world with much that is good, and right, and true, for sure, but a humanity that is burdened by the consequences of misused and misguided free will.

As I think about this, I believe there is something that most if not all of us are seeking.  Something internally we know we need.  Something that is truly wonderful and life giving.  Something we understand is vital to our well-being during the worst and best of times.

I sense so many of us are craving a deep sense of connection.  Connection with ourselves.  Connection with others.  And connection with God.   The birth of Jesus, I believe, that shows us a pathway to the connectedness and meaningful relationships with others and God we seek.

God could have arrived with launch codes in hand that would turn any opposition into dust particles and glass.  God could have come in a state of wrath and furry with carpet-bombing in mind as a way to deal with things.  God could have joined us in the flesh as a suave, good looking, quick witted, wealthy chap in a Ferrari with a blond or brunette beauty by his side.

But God didn’t.  Instead he showed up as a baby, naked.  Naked with nothing in hand but total and complete dependency on those around Him.  Jesus arrived on scene in the most astonishingly vulnerable way possible.  But why?

I believe God chose, in part, to come to us as a naked, living, breathing, dependent baby to teach us something.  That something.  To show us what vulnerability is all about and that vulnerability is the key to a life of joy and purpose, and ultimately the path to connectedness with ourselves, others, and God.   You see, the more vulnerable we are willing to be, the more connected we become.

The path to connectedness is a willingness to be vulnerable, to risk being who we really are, not who we think we need to be, to share what is within the deep recesses of our souls, and to be real and authentic.

God put it all on the line for us when He joined us in a state of utter vulnerability as a baby.  He took the first step to connect with us so that we would not have to make the first move toward Him.  While we may not be in a place in which we are prepared to be vulnerable with others or even ourselves, Jesus says it is safe to bring all of ourselves to Him no matter what.

You see, Jesus put Himself as a baby into the lap of humanity, so that we would come to the place we’d be willing to put ourselves in His.

Merry Christmas!

With love and prayers – Robert +