Putting Down to Pick Up

I have no doubt that moms who are worth their weight in baby wipes would concur with this statement: parenting is a very overwhelming job, especially throughout the first few months of an infant’s life. After all, the baby just spent nine months tucked inside a cozy bubble, and the desire for that warmth and closeness isn’t left behind. While the infant’s primary interest is wrapped up in ensuring his tummy is full, besides a laundry list of needs that Mama is often the one to meet, it is essential for the baby to be cuddled and cooed at and given much me time. The benefits are great for mom too. Who can resist those tiny arms and hands and that precious fuzzy head? Often due to various other tasks that demand time and attention, mommies, and even grandmas, can become experts at multitasking: vacuuming with baby in tow, rinsing and loading dishes into the dishwasher, brushing big sister’s hair with the new little “helper” sharing the space. But there are many times when a mother has to choose to put something down to pick up her precious bundle and devote full time and attention to the little wonder that God has given as his special blessing. And though it can be tremendously hard at times, I believe many mothers would also concur that it really is totally worth it!

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was no exception. She had to put some things down to pick up her dear little Son. She was a virgin, but being pregnant during the period of betrothal would mean scorn, stares, and isolation from those in her community. She had to put down her dignity, her family ties, and any preconceived notions about the beginnings of married life as she expected the birth of her prodigious Son sooner than she would have dreamed. Oh, how special it was to her, however, to hold God’s Son. And everything she let go was worth putting down for the sake of not just that moment, but for the benefit of the entire world for all of time into eternity.

Then consider her Son. Jesus spent his life putting things down and picking up other things, some of which he would have rather left alone. He put down his heavenly sovereignty and picked up an unprivileged start to his earthly life in a dank, stinking manger. He put down his entitlement to a throne and scepter and picked up scorn and skepticism from particularly the educated and elite in the Israelite society. He gave up his glory and his rightful place of worship and picked up a rugged cross, the instrument of his death. He laid down his life and lifted up the souls of those who put their trust and faith in him for eternal salvation. And though it was incredibly hard at times, to Jesus it was totally worth it – what a wonderful Savior!

This Christmas, what might you put down and what might you pick up in honor of the humble, loving Son of God? To truly devote oneself to the Savior, there are choices to make, things to put aside, and sometimes challenging things to pick up to live out the life that will bring him honor and glory and live as he desires. And though it may be particularly hard at times, it will be totally worth it!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12: 1-2, ESV).

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