The Perfect Birth Day

by Heather Tietz

She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7

Birthdays are a big deal at our house. Everybody gets one day when we remember and rejoice in their life. We plan this special event for weeks in advance, but often our children are scheduling their favorite things months before that.

God too planned His Son’s birth. In fact, it appears He has been ordering the details of it since at least the 8th century when Isaiah prophesied it in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. In fact, God was hinting as early as Genesis of His birthday plans (Genesis 3:15).

God didn’t plan His Son’s first taste of life in manmade splendor, in luxury, in quiet, in clean. Instead, He planned to plant His Son into homemade delights – a crowded city, brisk air, warm cloth, the poke of hay on new nerves, the milk recipe He crafted so long ago. He wanted the nostril filling scent of creatures, the awe of new parents enthralled with the face of their newborn. He wanted His Son to experience the fullness of life. That was His Son’s perfect birthday.

God’s birthday choices for His Son reveal something wonderful about His interests. He adores Son in the crowded, smelly embrace of it. For thousands of years, He planned it. Surely Heaven is a neat and orderly place, but Jesus must love the very raw creation that’s His. What can we do but adore Him, because He first adored us?