How Much Did the Baby Know?

I've recently been listening to a new Christmas CD, and as I was meditating on the gift of Christmas this morning, one song in particular pierced my mind. The song talks about the things in the life of Jesus as He grew older and things surrounding His birth and asks the question if He knew then, or if He wondered.

So, go with me down that road a while...Did He know He would be born and laid in a feeding trough as His first bed? I wonder if He might have known the cattle who would eat out of that trough by name? Did He think of this night when He told His disciples that the Son of Man had no place to lay His head? Did His thoughts go back to that night?

I have done childcare for as long as I can remember, starting with my cousing when I wasn't quite 10. I have learned throughout the years many things about babies. One frightening thing has been that the fierceness of their anger is strong enough to kill, though their physical strength is small. If babies were born with the full strength of an adult, their impulses to anger would tend towards murder. So when Jesus was born, think about the power of God being put into that little babe. What a miracle that God would choose to strip Himself of all of that power (and for my close friends with whom we've had the power/strength discussion, the use here is intentional), and came as a child, unable to meet out the anger hold up in His cries when He was hungry, or when held by someone who was at odds with God (could He sense this as a baby?)

So many things to ponder, and so many wonders to discover. I'm glad I don't know it all, but I sure do love learning new things.

Merry Christmas.
Mildred