Bricks and Sticks
Have you ever heard a story a million times, but then it hits you differently? This happened to me with the retelling of the Three Little Pigs. Maybe I’d only heard the kid’s bedtime version because I believed the first two little pigs merely chose their building materials unwisely. Their poor choice left them vulnerable to the tricky wolf who huffed and puffed and blew their house down, but the house the third pig built with bricks stood strong.
In the rendition I recently heard, the first two pigs chose the straw and sticks out of convenience because they were lazy and wanted a house right away. Only the third went out of his way to find bricks, make the mortar, lay a firm foundation, and build his house. It took planning, time, and energy, but the extra preparation paid off.
Every Christmas, I think I’m going to be like the third pig and do my Christmas shopping early so I can relax and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. But every year I end up more like the first two pigs—rushing around in a fragile state, left with a mess because my Christmas peace was blown down by the big, bag, busy-wolf.
While I may be unprepared, God isn’t. He had a plan. He set the signs in place long before the prophecies foretelling the birth of Christ came to pass. God knew that we, even with the best intentions, needed a savior, so He laid the proper foundation to send His Son to earth. Here are some of the prophecies in the Old Testament proclaiming Jesus’s birth:
Genesis 12:3 says, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God planned for Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, to bless not only those who received His recorded miracles while on earth but also blessed all people by taking our sins upon himself and sacrificing himself for us on the cross, conquering death.
Isaiah 9:6 states, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Our Mighty God and Savior chose to come to earth as a baby so He would experience our same struggles and pains.
Psalm 89:3-4 predicts, “You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’”
God foretold that Jesus would come from King David’s lineage and that Jesus would take his throne and His kingdom would have no end.
Isaiah 7:14 claims that Jesus will be born of a virgin, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel."
Micah 5:2 foretells of the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
God had a plan to rescue us before we even knew we needed rescuing. We can find peace in Christmas because God has laid each brick of our lives. He knows the plans He has for us—plans to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We can rejoice and celebrate the birth of Jesus because the foundation of our house is built on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus. God prepared the world for Immanuel, God with us, and because of Jesus’s birth and sacrifice, a place is being prepared for us in heaven.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. – John 14:1-3