Jesus, Be Born In Me

This thought has come up several times for me throughout the week....there are a few Christmas songs that sing about asking Jesus to be born in us.  There's a lot packed into that concept.  We are "dead men walking" without Christ as it pertains to the wages of our Sin.  There was a time I was travelling in college with a singing group and my group was singing "Amazing Grace" at a church camp and the line that talks about "the hour I first believed" impacted me greatly for myself and for each person I would ever have the opportunity to minister to in song.  God marked that message to my soul as IMPORTANT that day....I never know what time might be someone else's moment of decision and that is why I should be ready in season and out of season and why my focus should be on making the most of my opportunities in Christ.  Jesus is God's precious gift of grace to us....and "how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed".....how precious is that grace now that I have believed for some time?

The decision to ask Jesus to be born in us, to take us over, to give us His mind, His heart, His words is not a decision we can take lightly.  I have often thought about how incredible it would have been to be Mary and be honored with the privilege and responsibility of mothering the Savior. But, as I have been thinking about my own children and my experiences with them, I've realized I AM able to watch Jesus being born....in them...and, to some extent, through me as I am used to bear His name. That is incredible!  I remember when Karly was four, I had a conversation with her about how when you ask Jesus to save you from our sins you welcome Him to live in your heart.  She took that soooo literally she looked down at her chest and said adamantly, "GET HIM OUT!"  And this from a PK :)  Obviously, that was not the last conversation we have had about knowing and living for Christ because having a relationship with Him is a lifetime of being a witness and allowing Him to be born in us anew.

I think regardless of whether it is the moment we first believe or we have been walking with Christ for some time, there is still a great privilege in asking Jesus to be born in us....we are chosen to bear the Savior for the world we will influence.  The question is, are we willing?

"Every moment in the middle, make my heart your Bethlehem." a lyric from,"Be Born In Me"
~Francesca Battistelli~
This is one of those songs that "gets me everytime"...pass the kleenexes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmxuGAX0cLo