And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed-and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well-that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”     Luke 2:34-35 LSB

On this day 12 years ago, my great niece was rushed from the doctor’s office to a hospital 45 minutes away. She was only 17 days old. The prognosis was grim. They performed an emergency surgery and were told her family that she would likely not make it through the night. Doctors told the family that if she did survive the night, she would probably be severely neurologically damaged. This kicked off a prayer chain that extended from Louisiana into many other states.

She not only survived the night, but she had no neurological damage. Today she is a beautiful, intelligent young woman. She celebrated her 12th birthday 17 days ago. We had a lot of good to celebrate on Christmas day 2011, but if not for God’s healing power, we could have been planning a funeral.

It was God’s will to heal this tiny baby girl. Many people told me that when they received the text message asking for prayer for her, it was the first time they had prayed in quite some time. Some of those same people have not only continued to pray but have begun going to church regularly.

So, from tragedy God brought good. I often thank God for that Christmas miracle back in 2011. In just two days we will celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. We don’t know when He was actually born, but this is the date that was chosen many years ago to celebrate His birth.

There are many things we don’t know. We don’t know exactly how old Mary was when she gave birth to Jesus. Some speculate that she could have been engaged to Joseph when she was as young as 14. So, she may have been just a teenager.

Our Scripture passage tells of the experience of a man named Simeon who had been overcome by the Holy Spirit and went into the temple at the same time Mary and Joseph had brought baby Jesus in. This man prophesied Jesus’ death and said to Mary, “A sword will pierce through your own soul as well.”

When Jesus was crucified, they put a sword in his side to be sure he was dead. His mother Mary was there to witness his crucifixion. How horrible that must have been for her.

People have miscarriages, babies who are stillborn, or children who die at a young age. I can’t imagine the tragedy of this as we came so close with our niece. Mary had a baby boy who was eight days old when a man held him in his arms and prophesied that he would cause the rise and fall of many in Israel and a sword would also pierce Mary’s soul.

Jesus came to earth to be born of this young virgin girl with one specific purpose, which was to die to save us from our sins. He lived His life as an example for us. We are told in Ephesians 5:1 that we are to imitate Him.

I’m not trying to put a damper on your holiday, actually this is wonderful news. Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection was necessary to save miserable sinners like you and me.

He was a baby like any other baby you have ever welcomed into this world. He differed however, because He was not only fully human, but He was also fully God.

If you haven’t surrendered your life for Him and accepted this precious gift He gave on the cross, ultimately you will be the one to suffer. I beg of you to turn to Him today. He was born to die for our sins, but He lives today. He will one day judge sinners. He will either welcome us to His home that He went to prepare for us (John 14:2-6), or He will throw us into a lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-14).

You have the choice. You were born to have eternal life. This is His plan for you, but He gave you free will to choose. So, what will it be? I pray you choose wisely.

Have a great day!