“Him who had no sin.”
Do you see innocence at Christmastime?
What about the young children whose eyes twinkle with Christmas? Their untainted belief of what could be.
What about fourteen-year-old Mary? A virgin, chosen to carry the Son of God.
What about a newborn baby in their first hours of life? The Christ Child who chose to leave His perfect Heavenly home to enter the imperfection of our dark world.
The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ… For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them…
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, NLT, bold added for emphasis)
The grace gift of Christmas comes through Jesus, who knew no sin. The guiltless One absorbed our sins so we could be made right with God. His innocence made Him the perfect offering—the bittersweet side of Christmas.
Many of our stories are bittersweet as we reflect on the hard seasons. We are blessed to see God’s hand at work restoring and bringing out goodness.
Tucked in verse six, chapter one of Matthew’s account of the Christmas story is a story of hardship and innocence. One of Jesus’ Great Grandmas suffered great hardship at the hands of others, and God saw her as an innocent lamb. A lamb is a biblical symbol of blamelessness.
Grandma Bathsheba
(2 Samuel 11 & 12)
Bathsheba was known as Uriah’s wife. Uriah, one of King David’s mighty men, was off to war at a time when scripture says all men were usually off to war. She received a message from the palace requesting her presence. One could imagine the possibilities that would have been running through her mind.
Was my husband killed? Would she be seeing her grandfather Ahith-ophel, who was a member of the court? Maybe there was a special event to honor the wives of the mighty men David esteemed so highly?
Bathsheba quickly discovered the request resulted from the lustful desires of King David, who had chosen not to go off to war with his army. Like a commodity to be consumed, he slept with her and sent her home.
A couple of months later, Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, and this time, the King was the recipient of an unwanted message. “I’m pregnant,” was all the message stated.
David immediately stepped into resolve mode. His first attempt to cover up his sin failed, forcing the King to take more extreme measures. He arranged for Uriah, one of David’s most loyal friends, to be killed by placing him unprotected on the frontlines of war. David then took Bathsheba as one of his wives.
One day, Bathsheba’s life was normal, but with one choice made by another, her entire life was wrecked. Her husband died, her honor was at stake, and then her baby only lived for seven days.
Does God See When We Are Wronged?
God confronted David with his actions through the prophet Nathan. Nathan used the analogy of a poor man who owned a single precious lamb he loved like a daughter. Along came a rich man who selfishly took the poor man’s innocent lamb and used it to serve his guest instead of using a lamb from his own flock. (2 Samuel 12:1-8)
David was enraged at the story and claimed that anyone who had done such a thing should be dealt with severely. “Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7)
God saw Bathsheba as the innocent lamb.
When we think about sheep in the Christmas story, we remember the Shepherds and their sheep on the hillside the night the angels sang “Glory in the Highest.” We may think about a few sheep scattered in a nativity scene. We might even dwell on Jesus the Lamb, who was sent into the world.
The lineage of Jesus calls us to uncover the sad story of Grandma Bathsheba, also known as an innocent lamb. She represents those whose stories have been impacted by the hands of others. Her story conveys a powerful message from God that He does indeed see our pain inflicted by the world.
God sees us and cares more deeply than we could ever understand.
The world has a way of dismantling innocence and making us feel ashamed. Christ came into the world, the perfect One: Immanuel, God with us. God not only sees our pain as a result of others, He enters our pain. He doesn’t stop with empathy, but He makes a way for healing to take place.
“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11, NIV)
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12-13, NLT)
Whatever identity the world may insist we take, God gives us a new identity. “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)
We are given the position of daughters and sons of the Most High King. Through Christ, the Innocent Lamb, we have a new beginning.
God sees us, He walked among us, and He is always present with us through His Spirit. He reconciles us, redeems us, and restores us.
Like the Grandmas of Christmas, Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba, we have been impacted by this world’s brokenness. Like their stories, our pain is not too great, our shame is not too deep, and our stories are not too shattered for God to see us, touch us, and help us move beyond our past to a brighter future with Him.
I pray your Christmas is filled with grace. The grace of being seen, valued, and loved. The grace of moving forward with the beauty of new on the horizon. May you receive the gift of God’s grace this season, and may your story be a shining example of the difference that the Christ child makes in our lives. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: God sees me.
Reflect: What does feeling seen by God mean to you? Is there undealt with pain from your past? Can you open yourself up to God touching those places and healing you? Ask God about each situation, “What do you want me to know?” Who can you share these things with and ask them to pray for you as God brings about restoration and new?
Deeper: (As you read through these additional verses, ask the Spirit to give you wisdom and teach you more about what He wants to tell you about how He sees you.). 2 Samuel 11 & 12; Luke 8:40-48, 2 Corinthians 5:17-6:1
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(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation, NIV – New International Version)
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