Posted by
Bowe Hoy on Sunday, December 14, 2008 8:08:34 PM
He was an unborn child like all others.
Like all unborn children, he was fully human from the beginning. At the moment of conception, he became a member of the human race. His stature, size, dependency, stage of development, or place of residence did not alter his humanity.
Like all unborn children, he was marvelously complex and wonderfully made from the beginning. A single thread of his DNA contained information equivalent to a library of about one thousand volumes, or six hundred thousand printed pages with five hundred words on each page. His genetic information from a single cell was the equivalent of fifty times the amount of information contained in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Like all unborn children, he developed at an amazingly rapid rate from the beginning. Within a month after his conception, he multiplied in size ten thousand times. Within a month and a few days after his conception, every body part that he would need to live outside of the womb was formed. His heart was beating and pumping blood throughout his body; his eyes began to form; he had budding arms and legs; his brain had developed and controlled the movement of his muscles and organs; his mouth, ears and nose began to shape; his skeleton had formed; his brain waves are evident; he reflexively responded to stimulus. And he could feel pain. All of this occurred before his mother barely even noticed that she was pregnant.
He was an unborn child like many others.
Like many unborn children, the circumstances of his family were less than ideal; more than challenging. His teenage mother was unmarried, undereducated and underprivileged. His earthly father was mysterious and unknown. His teenage mother was accused of being irresponsible and irrational. His earthly father was chastised for being absent and selfish. At times his teenage mother felt inadequate and incapable. At other times his teenage mother felt scared and lonely.
Like many unborn children, the circumstances of the world he was about to enter were less than appealing; more than overwhelming. There was political, economic, and social turmoil. There were wars, battles, and fights. There was poverty, hunger, and famine. There was crime, injustice, and unrest. Children were being abused, women being raped, and men being killed. Governments were oppressive, leaders were corrupt, and people were persecuted.
Like many unborn children, the circumstances of his arrival were less than welcoming; more than disparaging. They said it would be better he did not enter the world. They said the world would be better without him.
Like many unborn children, he would prove them wrong.
He was an unborn child unlike any other.
Unlike any unborn child, he was fully human and fully God from the beginning. At the moment of conception, he became a member of the human race and remained a member of the Throne of Grace. His stature, size, dependency, stage of development, or place of residence did not alter his humanity or Deity.
Unlike any unborn child, he was conceived without human intervention. His teenage mother was pure, innocent, and chosen by God. His earthly father was chosen by the same God for a different task.
Unlike any unborn child, his destiny in the world would be agonizingly painful, amazingly glorious, and divinely redemptive. A single drop of his blood would be sufficient to cover the sins of all humanity. Every body part he would need to live would be bruised or broken. His heart would be emotionally broken from the betrayals, and physically damaged from the beatings; his eyes would be swollen shut; his arms and legs would be torn and snapped; his brain would cease to control the movement of his muscles and organs; his mouth, ears and nose began would be smashed into a different shape; his skeleton would become deformed; he would reflexively respond to the torturous stimulus; his brain waves would dissipate and then disappear. And he would feel every pain. All of this would occur before his crucifiers barely even noticed that it was his love for them that held him on that cross.
Unlike any unborn child, he came to this world because he chose to do it. Because he loves us, he chose to become one of us. To save us, he would die for us. To give us life, he would defeat death. They would say that no one could possibly do what he would claim to do.
Unlike any unborn child, he would prove them wrong.