Help! I Broke Jesus!

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I stood, staring in disbelief as Jesus tumbled to the floor. Unlike my other nativity set, this Jesus was not attached to the ceramic manger. As a result, I wasn’t paying attention when I pulled him out of the Christmas box. Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and wisemen, even the donkey, had remained unscathed. But, alas, the central figure lay in pieces in my hand.

Anxiously, I glued the baby together, (along with two of my fingers), hoping to magically erase the cracks. No such luck. Unwilling to give up, I asked a ceramic-making friend to pour and fire a replacement. She tried, but the Jesus she created rocked the manger. (Sounds like a song...)

Unwilling to toss Jesus away, I swaddled the glued figure in a soft fabric from my new glasses’ case. But even bundled in blue, the damage I had inflicted couldn’t be hidden. “Oh, well,” I sighed, resigned to displaying my carelessness for all the world to see.

Then the thought... Keep the broken Jesus! After all, He didn’t come to remain in a manger, a cute baby to be part of the holidays, only to be returned to a box until the next December. His story didn’t stop at Christmas. 

The Baby grew, declared Himself the Son of God, “come to save us from our sins.” We’ve all sinned--broken God’s laws and His heart--and deserve eternal separation from Him. But Jesus came to pay the price we should have paid. He was “broken” on the cross so we could be made whole. 

Just as He didn’t stay attached in the manger, He didn’t stay attached to the cross either. Three days later He rose from the dead, “the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” This Christmas, why not welcome Him out of the manger and into your heart and life?!    

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