In America, the news coverage about the impending birth of a royal baby was almost none stop. When would the babe be born? Would it be a boy or girl? What would the name be? I can only imagine that in England it must have been even more crazy.
In fact to mock the media obsession with the birth of the future King George, a satirical paper in England on the day of the babies birth published the headline you see to the right, “Woman Has Baby.†Yes mocking all of the media hype with these three words, this headline contended, “Big deal. A woman had a baby. It happens all the time.â€
So which is right? The obsession over the royal baby or the dismissal of the event? Neither. To places one’s hope and joy onto any particular baby is misguided. No one baby is assured to produce any noticeable good in the world. At the same time, every birth is to be rejoiced in. Each time a woman has a baby (or simply conceives one for that matter), it is a gift straight from heaven to be excited about. Every baby is a gift from the Lord and a heritage to the parents who receive it. Children are a blessing from the Lord in every case.
If we agree with the headline above and dismiss births as simply normal events not worthy of notice, we misunderstand the nature of all human history. The great story of humanity is all driven by conceptions and births. And it is centered on the conception brought about by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary and the birth which occurred in that little town of Bethlehem.
We modern Americans have such a weird relationship with babies. Generally, we still make quite a deal about it when a birth happens but at the same time we allows babies to be quietly killed and discarded. We celebrate birthdays with much hoopla and yet we make family planning choices which directly seem to suggest we do not truly understand how precious children truly are.
Each time a woman has a baby (or conceives one), it is worthy of much rejoicing. Not because the baby is born into a certain family with the likely means to turn potential into reality but because God has sent another blessing upon the earth for our good. Each time we should give thanks to God and reflect upon the one Child born worthy enough to place one’s hope and joy onto to for all eternity.
I suppose in Bethlehem that day, many people would have heard about Mary giving birth and just put in the paper, “Woman has baby.†But we know better. That baby is the one true King who reigned even in infancy. He has established the kingdom in which we now rest. Each baby is precious and this baby is perfect.
