Today’s Hope

Today’s Hope
Written by Guest Writer, Joy Mathis Chadwick

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 KJV

There’s just something about Christmas that stirs up memories from long ago. One of my fondest memories is remembering Christmas Eve night when our little family would gather and read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. When our boys got old enough to read, the story changed a little from Mary and Joseph to Mary and Jofus; the swaddling clothes became squatting clothes. These are the memories that bring a smile to my heart.

Don’t think for a minute that our Savior’s birth wasn’t orchestrated even to the smallest detail. I used to wish for Mary that she could have had a more comfortable place to give birth. I wished she could have had a baby shower, complete with cute onesies and disposable diapers. I wished that somehow her baby’s future wouldn’t overshadow the joy of her newborn. But God had a plan.

I did a little research on swaddling clothes, and what I learned was what I already knew in my heart about God’s small details. There were certain shepherds, Levitical shepherds, who were chosen to raise the lambs that would be offered as the Passover sacrifices in the temple. When it was time for the lamb to be born, the shepherd would take the ewe into the cave. As soon as the lamb was born, the shepherd would then wrap it in swaddling cloths to protect it from spot or blemish, a requirement for the Passover sacrifice. So it was no coincidence that the Levitical shepherds who got the revelation from the angel that they would find the baby – our Savior – wrapped in swaddling cloths, born in the same place as the Passover lambs, pointing to the fact that this baby – our Savior – was the holy and precious Son of God.

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

He’s that baby born in a cave! He’s asleep in a feed trough! There are lots of animals in that cave with him, too! His momma is Mary and his step-dad is Jofus. They’ve got him all wrapped up in squatting clothes!

Yes, please come! Let’s all adore Him!! He’s Christ the Lord!!