And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

Isaiah 11:6-9

The world shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

This  morning as Henry and I were getting ready to go to daycare he brought several of his cars to me. He handed them to me and said "I want to take these". I told them that he needed to leave them at home because he wouldn't want to lose any of them. He said to me very matter of fact "No, I share with my friends". I looked at him a little perplexed and said "You are going to share your cars with your friends?" "Yes, one for Asher, one for Isaac, one for Brooke and one for Noah. They take their cars home. Merry Christmas". I almost cried. My precious yet quite possessive child was going to give to his most treasured toys to his friends for Christmas. We went on to daycare and believe it or not, he walked in and passed out a car to each friend saying "Merry Christmas".

 Paul and I talk to Henry all the time about sharing and giving to others. However, if you even try to come between him and his matchbox cars you are looking for a fight. So where did this come from? When did my child learn that giving to others and sharing is one of the most valuable lessons of life and what Christmas is truly about?

In the book of Isaiah, he is telling of his prophecy. What he knows will happen and how it will happen. The world at this time was at war, people were not worshiping God in the way that God intended and the message that God sent was not being received in the way God had hoped. They desperately needed a Savior, someone to come and teach them the truth about God and to share the Gospel. But a child? A tiny little baby? How was a child supposed to lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven? How as a child supposed to teach them right from wrong? How was a child supposed to spread the word of God?

Jesus comes into this world a tiny baby. Born to a young mother and father that had to be scared out of their minds. I am not sure how many times an angel could tell me "Do not be afraid" for me to not be scared! I would imagine they were terrified but they truly believed the child they would parent would be the worlds' Savior. And they knew how to be his parents. How to love him, nurture him and allow him to be himself so that he may spread the Good News.

Jesus brought hope, peace, love and joy to a broken world. He shared his Gospel and through his love and sacrifice created a place for all of us to experience this even today. And this did not start when he was a young man, it started the moment he came into this world; as a tiny baby, a little soul that would lead the world to peace.

"A little child shall lead them"

This morning, Henry reminded me of the importance of Christmas. I saw the joy, hope, peace and love in his tiny little face. My child, MY CHILD, was leading me this morning to a place of hope. That even when the world seems out on control, our lives seem to be in utter chaos and we can't quite figure out how to get it all together; our children remind of us that it is all possible. That we can be people of God; people that give to one another, people that spread the Good News and people that believe in Christmas.

God bless all the tiny children in this world and allow us to open our hearts and minds so that they may lead us to a place of hope, peace, love and joy.

Merry Christmas.