Firstborn

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
-Luke 2:6-7



Firstborn holds a lot of responsibility.

He is the one who leads the way. A trailblazer. Icebreaker. He sets the bar for those who come after, and is who younger ones look up to.

The road is unclear. There are no maps that direct which way to turn, where to go, when to get there. So the firstborn must forge a trail previously never stepped upon. And when the path proves a bit overgrown, He looks to His Father to show the way.

From the firstborn many appear. Bloodlines thicken, populations multiply. When you see one, others are sure to follow.

The firstborn is strong. He must hold his own and take on the world that is so unknown to eyes that see land and life for the first time through flesh. He is resilient. If something doesn’t turn out the way it should, He continues on to make it right.

He is caring, gentle, patient and kind. He looks after those in His care. When they hurt, He bleeds, too. When they smile, His heart rejoices. He encourages the downcast and propels them to a sky of dreams. He will make even the most stubborn of hearts crave His approval.

Love lives inside Him. Light spills from His eyes. His touch soothes. He knows His destiny, and steps towards it with determination. And from afar, His Father watches, waiting until the day He returns home, task completed, and has set the world in motion. In His Son, this firstborn, this selfless servant, the Father is well pleased.

And what pleases the Son, the right and true firstborn? Knowing the lives He’s cared for are well secured and safe.


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You came into a cold, cruel world to mark a life of love, to set an example we are to follow. You were the firstborn, in every sense of the word. In life, in sacrifice, and for caring about my heart. You are the reason for the season of reflection. May I walk in Your steps and blaze like You. Amen.