Following the infant is about living in a relationship with the infant.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

No, this is not the same picture I posted a couple of days ago.

If you go back to Wednesday’s blog you will note that Jesus is out of focus. There was a reason. I wanted to focus (pun intended) on Mary. As we continue to move through this nativity scene, it’s time to concentrate on relationships.

There is no better place to begin than that relationship between mother and child.

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple
whom he loved standing nearby [his cross],
he said to his mother,
‘Woman, behold your son!’
Then he said to the disciple,
‘Behold, your mother!’
And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
John 21:26-27 English Standard Version

There is a great deal of history between the manger and the cross.

At one point Jesus’ family didn’t know what to make of him, and his mom, leading the pack, came “seeking” him (Luke 8:19-21). Yet it was her baby who was now being crucified. The one who brought this life into the world becomes a follower of the one to whom she gave birth.

And she followed him to his death.

Outside of John, the other disciples fled the cross. But not his mom. What unbearable pain must have pierced her soul (Luke 2:35). Yet what joy when she experienced the empty tomb.

The cross and the empty tomb don’t mean a thing to the person living outside of a relationship with the baby, but they mean everything to the person with whom God has established this relationship.

Following the infant means living in a relationship with him who takes us to his cross and his empty tomb. It can be an emotionally painful, gruesome visit and liberating at the same time. It is a trip that flows from a relationship with the infant child.

By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR.  May God grant all of you blessed 2016.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner