Last week I told you it was as if Jesus went from the manger to the Cross.

This is Christmas and I want to keep Jesus in the manger.  I want to cherish this baby.  I want to kneel in respect and awe.  But it was not God’s plan for Jesus to stay a baby.  God’s plan was for Jesus to fulfill his ministry.

God had a plan. Jesus began his ministry.

Jesus began his ministry to teach the love of the Father.

A MAN

Jesus was all grown up and sowing seeds of his Father’s love. 

We all have pictures in our mind of Jesus and these pictures are usually shaped by the art work we see.  We see Jesus calling his disciples.  We see him with a child on his lap or feeding many people.  We see him healing the blind and we see his anger as he sends the “den of thieves” out of the temple.  We see him talking with the woman at the well and we see him telling Lazarus to come out of the tomb.

But, I also see him doing ordinary things.  I can picture Jesus walking along various roads and noticing everything.  He sees the flowers that have bloomed after the rain.  He hears the secretive Olive-tree Warbler.  He marvels at sunrises and sunsets.  We rush through life, but I picture Jesus savoring every moment. 

Can you see Jesus laughing and smiling, as someone tells a joke?  Can you picture Jesus shaking his head as he has to explain a parable to the disciples, for the third time?  Can you see Jesus taking the hand of a dear friend and having a quiet conversation with him?

Jesus doing ordinary things and all the time he was teaching the love of the Father.

God had a plan for Jesus and he would fulfill that plan.