“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:16

Sometimes it’s hard to marvel at a Christmas gift. What do you say when the gift doesn’t quite match what you wanted? When it’s a present you secretly hoped for, but didn’t think you’d ever receive, it’s much easier for eyes to light up.

Not to many eyes lit up that night at Bethlehem. Mary’s eyes did. She knew who her child was because the angel had told her nine months earlier. Joseph’s eyes lit up too. An angel had told him months earlier that the baby’s name was to be Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins.

What about the shepherds? The humdrum darkness of their night watch had been gloriously interrupted. Never again would darkness rule over their hearts. Unto them had been born a Savior, who was Christ the Lord. Can we imagine their legs carrying them a bi faster than usual to that lowly stable? Or their hearts beating faster than usual as they knelt before their Savior?

I can’t explain how the eternal God could be a little baby in a manger. Neither can I explain the divine love behind this miracle. But my eyes light up when I hold in hands of faith the present I so desperately needed but never thought I would bet—my Savior, Christ the Lord.

Never stop marveling at the most wonderful Christmas gift of all!