The cradle and the cross.

Remember this today: We only celebrate the cradle because of the cross.

My wife and I have become the opposite of “back row Baptists.” Don’t ask me how it happened. It just did. What that means is that every Sunday, we sit in the front right section of the church, usually in the first three rows.

Not because we’re somehow more holy. But because… well, I don’t know. We just started doing it and haven’t stopped.

Maybe it’s partly because of this: For me, at least, I’m less distracted. I’m more engaged. I’m more attuned to what’s being said. The hard-hitting points hit, well, harder. But also, what I’ve realized, is that I tend to pick up on the sub-points better. The “little” things.

And that’s what happened this past Sunday. In our final service of Advent, the minister (not our regular pastor but a friend of mine who was filling in) said something that has stuck with me all week. And in light of Christmas, I think it’s a point you need to hear as well. Because it will hopefully give the birth of Christ a little more meaning for you.

I’m not going to belabo…