Last Christmas, while looking at a nativity scene, I was profoundly moved by the picture before me. On one side of the display were shepherds bowing to the baby Jesus, and on the other side were kings honoring him, as well. Suddenly, I was strongly impressed with the idea that the shepherds, considered to be at the bottom rung of the social ladder in Jesus’ day, and the kings, who were at the top, shared a common awareness of the Christ. And the thing that struck me the most was that Jesus himself, still a newborn, hadn’t yet done or said one thing that defined him as the Messiah. They just knew. And so I was reminded that it is God who reveals the Christ, the truth of universal divine sonship, to all human hearts.
Many months after Christmas, in a moment of frustration about a relationship issue, I remembered what had moved me so deeply about that nativity display. It is God alone who reveals to us the truth of His uninterrupted love for all mankind. God alone is the healer of the fears that suggest a separation from His loving care. Therefore, I need not feel the burden of having to do so myself. It is the Christ that heals.
I then felt free to let go of any sense of personal responsibility for the problem troubling me, and a peaceful resolution to the struggle soon followed. Everyone hears God’s angel messages—I do, and so do all.
