He’s Here!
When our second son was born at home our oldest son Joshua who was 18 months old at the time was asleep in his room and “missed out” on all the excitement. Eventually we woke him up and brought him in to see his baby Brother Malachi.
“Joshua, wake up – he’s here! Come meet your little brother!”
He’s here. The fulfillment of a long-awaited promise. With each of our children the anticipation always grew during that last month before the due date. Of course, for my wife who was carrying the child the anticipation was just to get it over with as the last month is usually the most miserable. In ways though, for me as a dad, the last month is the easiest. I’ve figured out what to do to keep the wife happy and comfortable (relatively) all that’s left for me to do is wait.
He’s here. I’m old school in a lot of ways but not when it comes to the birth of my children. I take a very active role in fact. In the past the fathers were always relegated to the waiting room, or the living room, or any other room but the birthing room, waiting and pacing the floor until the Doctor or nurse appeared and announced, “He’s here!”
Now take all that excitement, anticipation and emotion and travel back with me to a time and place we only vaguely know about. A manger where a young lady, newly married, lay in the hay that belonged to the animals. As women ran back and forth boiling water and wringing out clean linens a midwife that someone had run to find arrives and assists the lady in bringing forth a new life. The father is told, “He’s here, come greet your new son.” They don’t understand that he isn’t actually the man’s son, but he already loves him and will raise him as his own.
The shepherds who had come to the manger to take care of the animals before they bed down themselves for the night had stayed around to run errands and just generally be a part of any excitement on an otherwise normal night. Now with things winding down they meander off back toward their own homes stopping at inns and the homes of friends along the way to say, “He’s here.”
“Who’s here?” They call back in confusion.
“Some family, in from outta town – here for the census I’m sure. No proper room in the inn so they was stayin’ in the manger when she up and decided to give birth!”
“Isn’t that something!” They exclaim.
The shepherds in the fields who were watching their sheep in the folds stood trembling in fear as the angels from heaven announced, “He’s Here!”
Jesus Christ – Saviour, King and Creator trading His throne in Heaven for the lowliest of cattle stalls on Earth was the fulfillment of the long-awaited promise of God coming down to man.
“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:22 & 23
“He’s here.”
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6 & 7
“He’s Here.”
This is what has become my favorite part of the Christmas holiday. My fixation on the fact that God in Heaven would even care as much to lift a finger in my aid is astounding to me, but then I read these scriptures and I see that God cares so much more than I could ever know. He promised thousands of years before I existed that He would come to Earth himself and live among us and through His Son Jesus Christ he fulfilled that promise. How could my heart be filled with anything else but Joy, and how could I do anything else but announce to all I encounter –
“He’s Here.”