What Changed the Day Jesus Came?

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

Heaven came to earth. Heaven lay in a manger, a stone trough for feeding the animals. Heaven lay wrapped in swaddling clothes. And people came, bringing gifts and their hearts for this little Baby. This King. 

But, did the world know what had happened? Did people awake the morning after His birth and feel something different? Did they sense something different in the air? Did things look different, taste different, smell different?

I wonder how it could not have been different. God in flesh arrived on earth. This would have made the morning news, if only people had realized what had happened.

Those of us living today have never known our world without the Living Savior. We’ve all been born in a time when Jesus Christ already came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died a sinless death, as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We live in a time when we’ve been forgiven for our sins and can stand before the throne of God, with our sins washed away, if we will accept the sacrifice He made for us.

We live after Heaven came to earth.

But in Mary’s day, these people had been living with a future hope. With a need for Christ. But, they didn’t yet have Him in the form of man. The God Man.

The Scriptures don’t speak specifically of a physical change in the world on the night He was born, but many things were happening that were out of the ordinary. Angles were singing, as we’re told in the Gospel of Luke. Shepherds were following a huge star in the sky that they had not previously seen or followed. Angels were everywhere speaking to different people about the Savior. Things were definitely different.

And most important, a Baby lay in a manger, the King, the Savior of Man. Mary knew things had changed forever. Joseph knew. But many had no idea.

May we be like Mary and Joseph, knowing the will of our Father and following His direction for our lives. May we be in constant prayer, seeking His guidance for our lives. May we know that something is different, and may people see something different in us.

May we not be like so many people who do not recognize a King in our midst, the Son of God in flesh, Jesus Christ. May we know that there’s something different here on Earth today: the Spirit of God, and salvation through our Savior, Jesus Christ.