Labor and Delivery!

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Most people, when they consider the life of royalty, either by birth or popularity, think of posh surroundings with pampered spoiled individuals who look out for themselves first.  The media of today as well as recorded history for that matter, portray the privileged aristocracy as oblivious to the plight of the average. They seem to have the easy life with few cares or concerns. They do not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, whether they can pay the mortgage, get to work in a broken car or if indeed they will still have utilities when they get home from a long day at work.

There is one King that did not live the “royal” life on earth. He did not have the creature comforts afforded by his title, for that matter, he was not even recognized by most as the true king. That king was Jesus; Lord of Lords, King of Kings, ruler of all nations.

Jesus’ birth was foretold centuries prior by prophets and anticipated by the masses yet when he was born to a lowly maiden, not making a grand entrance, he was only recognized by a few. The truth is he came in such a way that he experienced the same human existence as the people he was here to one day lead and redeem. His beginning as a earthly being was humble and unassuming of his position. Living the life of a carpenter’s son, he participated in the life of the normal Jewish family with all the rituals and laws and family tradition in tact.

Although he came to save all, not just the Jewish, he experienced what each of us endure through life’s ups and downs, challenges, triumphs and defeats. He had his own family issues and probably dealt with that one family member that no one wants to be around or longed to be with the cherished one that everyone loves. He had a very human experience minus the pomp and circumstance of his true identity so he could set the example of how to live, love, work and worship in relationship with his Father. He arrived through labor of a normal childbirth, lived the laborious life of a common man so that he could make the ultimate sacrifice of himself. He suffered the painful death of shame so that he could make the ultimate gift, delivery of humankind from the wages of sin and eternal death.

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