The Condescension of Christ

Christmas has come and gone, and it's back to the work and class grind. I enjoyed making memories with family and feeling the spirit of giving that comes each December.

I've taken some time in the days following December 25th to reflect on the birth of our Savior. We talk frequently of His life, ministry, and atonement, but we don't focus as much on His birth -- except at Christmastime.

I find it remarkable that Christ, who led legions of angels and created worlds without end, left His throne at the right hand of God to come to earth as a baby. A helpless little baby. He who gave direction to so many mortals came to receive direction from two imperfect human beings. Though He was all-powerful, as a baby He was wholly dependent upon Mary and Joseph.

Not only did He experience a mortal birth, but He was born among the most humble of circumstances. The Prince of Peace's first experiences in mortality were among dirty hay, manure, and noisy livestock. 

I wonder what it was like to raise the Son of God. One Christmas song suggests  that "the little Lord Jesus no crying He makes." But I believe that He did cry. I believe that He was like any other baby: He cried when He was hungry and needed rocked to sleep.

"Be It Unto Me" by Liz Lemon Swindle.

I'm sure Mary and Joseph treasured when Jesus took His first steps and said His first words. They did all they could to educate Him in the ways of the world and the ways of God.  I find it amazing that He who was all-knowing had to relearn so much. As a child, Jesus learned carpentry and other skills. He must have played with other children and experienced runny noses and skinned knees.

We don't know a lot about Christ's childhood, but the scriptures say He grew "grace for grace," so it took time before His divinity was manifest. By the age 12, He had wisdom enough to educate doctors and teachers in the temple.

The Book of Mormon describes Christ's mortal beginning as the "condescension of God." Condescend typically has a negative connotation, but in this context it simply means that Christ did something below His status. As the Son of God, all of mortality was below His status, including being born in a stable to a carpenter's wife. He didn't need baptism. He didn't need to experience the pain of sin. But He did these things out of love for us.

There is much we don't know about the birth of Christ (how exactly He was conceived, the exact timeline, etc.) But that's okay. The prophet Nephi didn't either.

When asked, "Knoweth thou the condescension of God?" the prophet Nephi responded, "I know that He loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." 

Christ loves us. He loves us enough to come to earth as a baby and learn and grow and experience the best and worst of mortality. He loves us enough to die for all our sins.

So when Christmas gets a little stressful with final exams, decorating, traveling, and wrapping gifts, remember why we celebrate.  We celebrate that love and that perfect little baby that came to change the world.

Comments