the christmas story is one of my favorites. it has so many wonderful characters. the donkey, who humbly and surely carried Mary to bethlehem. the angels who couldn't help from singing such glad tidings, and the the shepherds who were worthy and ready to hear their message when it came in the middle of the night. the innkeeper who didn't have room in his inn, but who found room in a stable. herod, who would have had the Christ child killed. Joseph is one my favorites. i cannot imagine what he must have been feeling as a man, the responsibility and focus that must have been his as his wife gave birth to his Savior. and Mary herself, who we know to be fair, obedient, faithful, and who pondered those sacred and hallowed things in her heart, probably, for the rest of her days.
but each time i read the christmas story, i read on to the wise men and the star that they followed, who knows how far and who knows for how long. such interesting and mysterious people are these threekings from the orient, who had the means and the conviction and the belief to follow a star to their redeemer. which leads me to the star itself, a symbol of hope and of promises hung in the heavens to be followed if sought. sometimes i feel like a wise man, ever trailing the stars the Lord sees fit to put in my sky.
yet all of these characters would be pointless without the Baby Jesus, who was born to save us all that night, and changed the world with His birth and the promise of righted wrongs and eternal joy that it brought.
