Like many of you, our children have been famous for asking "Why?" about everything - and that has led us on many interesting adventures over the years. As for the birth of Jesus and all that surrounds it, we have learned plenty by their questions of "Why?" However, there are many questions that I wasn't as sure of the answers, and I have discovered a tremendous resource for families that are using the Christmas Unit Study.
Having a very inquisitive mind myself, I couldn't help but pick up the small paperback book titled:
Why the Nativity?
25 Compelling Reasons We Celebrate the Savior's Birth
By David Jeremiah
Here's the link at CBD:
http://tinyurl.com/yg3jsl
"Drawing from both the Old and New Testaments, David Jeremiah provides answers to 25 of the most thought-provoking questions surrounding the most pivotal moment in human history - the birth of Jesus Christ."
As I have been reading this, I realized that this book provides some great answers for those "Why" questions - here's a summary:
Chapter:
1 Why the Prophecies?
2 Why Did God Become a Man?
3 Why Mary?
4 Why the Song of Mary?
5 Why Joseph?
6 Why Did Jesus Come When He Did?
7 Why Elizabeth and Zechariah's Miracle Baby?
8 Why Bethlehem?
9 Why Was There No Room in the Inn?
10 Why the Stable?
11 Why Call Him Jesus?
Why the Shepherds?
Why the Star?
Why the Angels?
Why the Wise Men?
Why Did Jesus Come?
So many questions, and such simply-stated answers for the whole family. This book would make a great read-aloud for the whole family -- and will probably bring about many discussions that will be remembered for years to come.
I've only had this book for a few weeks, but it is well-worn and much enjoyed. Look for it at your local bookstore - it is a book that you will pull out Christmas after Christmas, to share with your children and your grandchildren. It is also a great gift to include with a jar of hot chocolate mix and a cute coffee mug for friends and family.
Here are just a few thoughts from the book as the author responds to the questions:
From the chapter on
"Why Did Jesus Come When He Did?"
"The Romans themselves were part of the answer... They had constructed the famous Roman roads that would allow messengers to travel safely with news and ideas, as Paul and the first missionaries would do. Ships, too, had come of age. Egypt and Italy, Syria and Spain - so many nations shared the "highway" that the Mediterranean Sea had become. Here was yet another means for the message of Christ to spread far and wide..."
From the chapter on
"Why do Anna and Simeon Challenge Us?"
"The joyful message comes through channels no one expected - not through priests or the crowd favorites but through two old, forgotten relics of good, old-time religion. It comes to them simply because they have been faithful. And one more message resonates through this Nativity story that is filled with messages - the moral being that God rewards the faithful..."
Blessed Christmas,
Amanda B.
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