As the sun began to sit, and the evening meal was being prepared, Caleb glanced up to see his eleven year old grandson, Seth, approaching him. “Saba(grandfather in Hebrew), you promised yesterday you would tell us more of the birth of Jesus. As you do, may I ask of you a question?”
Caleb looked into his eyes and said, “My son. You are always welcome to ask me any question about Christ! What question do you have on your mind this day?”
Seth looked up at Caleb and began to ask, “Of all the people in this world, why did the Lord God pick Joseph and Mary? So many families of wealth and stature that could have offered Him so much more, why would He pick someone from simple means like the two of them?”
As Caleb heard his grandson’s question, he began to hear the voice of his own youth, as Seth’s question sounded a lot like his own question one day had. “Seth, let me share with you what was once told to me as I asked that same question. Many years ago, I found myself asking this question of brother Luke. His answer to me back then, I think would mean just as much to you now.”
As Caleb spoke, he could see the family slowly gathering to hear his words. “Luke asked me, if our Lord God is perfect in every way, how could anything of this world offer Him more, or make Him any better? His ways are not our ways, and thank goodness they are not(Isaiah 55:8-9). It was God’s will for His Son to be born of simple means, in a simple stable, not in the elite status of a palace.”
“You see my dear Seth, Jesus came to this world to bring salvation to everyone, not just to the rich and the powerful, but also to the poor and the downtrodden. God came to this world so He could again have a relationship with all, with every man and woman(Romans 10:13), not just with those of status and means. All mankind is lost and in need of a Savior, from the richest man in this world, to the poorest man who has nothing to his name(Luke 19:10). The love of the Lord was so deep for all of us, that He gave up all the glory of Heaven, so He could share in the poverty that we know. As the words of Paul tell us, ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.’”(2 Corinthians 8:9)
As Caleb put his hand on his grandson, he continued to tell him. “Jesus understood what it means to be poor, for us to not have all the things of this world. Look around you Seth, the majority of all you see have less than us, even with as little as we have. Jesus knew the troubles and sorrows this life could and would bring to us, and He knew that what we needed most was not another piece of silver, or a new set of clothes. Jesus came to give us something all the wealth in this world could not buy us. As Peter told us, silver will perish, but what the Lord offers us will never fade away(Acts 8:20). Jesus came to this earth to give us the most valuable gift of all, the gift of salvation(Acts 4:12). A gift that the wealthiest man is in just as great of need, as is the beggar we might pass on the street.”
Caleb looked up at his family and said, “Jesus came to us through humble means, to show us, it is the things of God, not the things of this world, that matter most(1 John 2:15). From His birth to His death, He showed us each day that prosperity is not a sign of our faith, but service, humility, and obedience are. And from the poorest of shepherds who came to visit Him that night, to the wealthiest of Magi who came to visit Him later, all came to the feet of this Child because they knew they were in need of a Savior(Romans 15:13). He came by humble means so our focus would be squarely on Him, and so we would see it was not more of what this world had to offer us that we need, but more of the free gift He came to bring to us.”
As Caleb looked at his family now gathered close, he realized that the sun had lowered even farther. So looking again at his grandson Seth, he began to say, “I know you also asked about Joseph and Mary, but our meal is now growing cold. Let us all eat, and after we are finished, I promise I will tell you more about them, my son. Because it puts the biggest of smiles on my face to see you wanting to know more about our Lord.”
Next time, as Caleb and his family finish their meal, we will join them as Caleb explains to all why God would choose Joseph and Mary to be the earthly parents of our Savior. And as Caleb and his family gather again, I hope your family will also join!
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