The Christmas when I was six years old, I learned a poem titled “Where Jesus Was Born.” The poem tells the story of three boys who went to see Jesus. One was blind, another was deaf, and the third was lame. Despite their infirmities, they helped one another make their way to the manger where Jesus was born. Then God gave them a special Christmas present—He healed them.
I imagined the little boys were around my own age, and I was so happy that they were healed on that special night. Now, I can’t help but think of all the other people whose lives have been changed because of Jesus’ birth.
There was the man walking to Bethlehem, leading a donkey that carried his expectant wife. Nine months earlier, his life had taken a sudden change—for the worse, it seemed—yet there had been a glimmer of hope: he’d been promised in a dream that all would be right. He held on to that promise; he hoped and prayed and patiently waited. That first Christmas night, all his fears were washed away. As the tiny Babe lay in the manger, peace flooded Joseph’s worried soul.
On the hills outside Bethlehem, a lowly shepherd watched sheep all night. Life was hard. He had taxes to pay and a family to feed. His country was occupied by a foreign power, and he longed for the day when he would be free. As he sat under the starlit sky, he prayed for a solution to his problems. That night his prayers were answered, and as he watched the Babe sleeping in the manger, he knew that God was going to work everything out in the end. Light came into his life.
A learned man had long searched the night skies for a sign in his quest for truth and meaning. Despite all his knowledge and wealth, he longed for something more. The answer came with a wondrous new star that heralded his Savior’s birth and led him to the young child.
Today, there are still many who are searching for truth and peace. For each one, the answer is the same as it was for those others that night in Bethlehem. The same love that touched their hearts two thousand years ago can touch the hearts of those who are searching today.