Some things in life are very sturdy and strong and almost unbreakable.  Like plastic dishes or toy trucks.  And some things in life are very fragile.  That means they are very breakable.  Yesterday Elizabeth learned that word ‘fragile’ the hard way.

This is Elizabeth’s Christmas Tree!  Isn’t it fantastic!  They have a very tall tree because, as you would expect, giraffes live in very tall houses!

Mr. Mawakasunga was reading the newspaper while Elizabeth was showing her best friend Barabas all the pretty ornaments.  “Look at this one.” she said as she carefully unhooked it from the branch.  “It is an old one from when my daddy was little.  I think it must be about 100 years old!  When we take the tree down, we store this one in a box with lots of protection.” 

“Wow!” said Barabas as he admired the ornament.

Elizabeth carefully placed the fragile ornament back on the branch and turned to say something else to Barabas when they heard a CRASH and a SHATTER!

Elizabeth and Barabas turned to see the smashed ornament on the floor!

“Oh daddy!  I’m sorry!” cried Elizabeth.  “I didn’t mean to break it!  Really, I didn’t do it on purpose!”  And Elizabeth cried.  Barabas just wanted to turn invisible.

“AHHH, Elizabeth!” shouted her father.  But when he saw how sorry his daughter was, he said “I know you didn’t MEAN to break it.  It’s just that you need to remember to be especially careful when you handle such fragile things!”

“Why couldn’t it just be made out of plastic or wood or something strong?”  sobbed Elizabeth. 

“I guess it would not be nearly as pretty if it was made of plastic or wood.  The glass is what made it so special and beautiful, and meaningful.” explained her father.  “And the fact that it came from my parents who loved me.”

This broken Christmas ornament makes me wonder about God.  It makes me wonder about God coming to earth as a tiny baby.  After all, God is the strongest of anything and is totally unbreakable, but tiny baby Jesus was as fragile as an old, glass Christmas decoration.

Why WOULD God risk coming to earth in such a fragile way?

The answer is clearly that God LOVES us and he wants to give to us  the most beautiful gift of all.  God sent his only son Jesus as a tiny, fragile, breakable human baby.  Babies, like old glass Christmas tree ornaments, need lots of tender care and protection. 

When God picked out a daddy for Jesus, he picked out the best, he picked Joseph.  So Joseph protected BABY Jesus, and God protected the GROWN UP Jesus until, in the end, it was time for Jesus to give His life for OUR salvation.   

A Christmas ornament can get broken.  However, the gift of salvation we have received from Jesus can NEVER be broken because God himself has protected it!            THE END

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