Now that Christmas Eve is here, I have been thinking about the first event that would mark the day Jesus was born. I have often wondered about the true environment of the Bethlehem that night. It must have been like one big family reunion with all the hometown boys returning to register their families with the government. As a mother whose children have moved out of state, I can almost feel the excitement as the relatives poured into town. We know from the scriptures the place was packed and space to stay was an issue. No room at the inn, remember? And apparently, no room anywhere else either.
This reminds me of family gatherings when my girls were small. Beds were a premium and delegated according to age. The floor became a sleeping surface with kids and adults alike wrapped in blankets and lined up like log wood. Chatting, rather than sleep, would go on late into the night due to the excitement of everyone being together again. I imagine it was a similar scene in the homes around Bethlehem that night. Families crowded together, sharing food, laughing and reminiscing, just enjoying being reconnected. And, right in the midst of it all, the Savior of the world makes His entrance.
How fitting. That was exactly why Jesus came in the first place. It was a reunion—a reconnecting. What delight must have been felt in heaven in anticipation of sons and daughters returning to the joy of the sweet fellowship with their Father again.
I am so glad that the first Christmas wasn’t so silent with the hubbub homecomings generally bring. It wasn’t silent then, nor has it been silent since. The birth of Jesus continues to get people’s attention, and I am glad for that. There is nothing better than being in the relationship with God that Jesus’s coming provided. And, I’m not about to keep quiet about that.
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Luke 2:14, John 3:16