The Ultimate Baby-Sitting Job


"Sleep while you can; there will be very little sleep when the little one arrives."  Such is 
often the advice to expecting parents.  I don't believe anyone can adequately explain 
the anxieties of parenthood—the weird sounds babies make while they sleep, colic 
every night for a month, anything on the floor becoming an edible object, dirty diapers 
(definitely the dirty diapers), etc.  We can read all the books about babies, attend all the 
seminars, seek all the advice of experienced parents, and there is still the anxiety of 
bringing that newborn home with you for the first time.

Transport all that anxiety and worry back two thousand years to a barn outside 
Bethlehem to young Jewish parents named Joseph and Mary.  Imagine staring down 
into those newborn eyes and realizing you're holding the long anticipated "MESSIAH!"  
What was Mary thinking as she fed the one who would be called the "Son of the Most 
High"  (Luke 1:32)?  What kind of care did Joseph take when he picked up the baby 
who would eventually reign on the throne of David forever (Luke 1:33)?  What was it like 
to baby-sit "GOD"?

I know, Mary probably didn't fully understand the miracle God had just performed.  And 
even though Joseph knew that something REALLY unusual had just occurred, if he had 
known the full extent of his new role as "daddy," he probably would have had a stroke.  
What is it like to be a father to God-incarnate?  I guess it was best he never knew!

When you think about it, for God to entrust His one and only Son and the hope of 
eternal salvation into the hands of a young Jewish boy and girl says something of His 
incredible love for us.  Thank God for godly baby-sitters!