“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Each year, Christians all around the world celebrate the birth of baby Jesus in a stable more than two thousand years ago. For those of us who have made Jesus Christ our Savior by accepting His free gift of salvation, Christmas is a pivotal point in history. If Jesus had not come to Earth as a human baby and lived a sinless life, He could not have died for our sins and we would still be lost. Through the birth of this tiny baby, salvation came into a darkened world
God used another baby boy to draw my family into a relationship with Him. My brother John was born when I was 5 years old. Although our mother had contracted rubella early in the pregnancy, John was declared healthy and sent home. However, we soon learned that John had serious heart defects and the he could neither see nor hear.
John underwent open-heart surgery when he was three months and endured several more surgeries in his first few years of life. My mother began praying, asking God to heal John. One day she asked an acquaintance to remember John in her prayers. The woman proceeded to share the gospel with my mother. Although my parents had attended church all their lives, until that day neither of them had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
My brother died from heart complications before his eighth birthday. During his short life, both of my parents and many other family members came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Although we miss John and think of him every day, we know that one day we will be reunited with him in Heaven.
This Christmas, and every Christmas, I am thankful that the Son of God humbled Himself and became human on our behalf and that God used a blind and deaf child with a bad heart to show my family our need for a personal relationship with God.
Susan's Reflections 