FROM THE TOP
LELAND ACKER chreporter@mediactr.com
If you could pick your parents, your birthplace and your childhood, what would you have selected? I probably would have decided to be born to a father who was very important in American government, who was married to a supermodel. I would have grown up rich, with many opportunities ahead of me, with my father's good name to get me places.

I certainly would not have decided to be born to a poor couple who were going to give birth to me in a stable, of all places. That is why God's wisdom is unmatched.

You see, had I been born to those rich and famous parents, you would probably be reading about me in the National Enquirer, not my columns in the Cherokeean Herald.

God, on the other hand, decided to be born (Immanuel... God with us) to a faithful woman and a just man. The humble setting made Him accessible to all. It also made His birth unique, thus further making it a sign from God.

Had Christ been born to the ruling family, He would have had a father or grandfather who was killing his own sons to keep them from taking the throne (King Herod). One of His brothers, uncles or cousins (depending on what end of the family He was born in) would have divorced His wife to marry His brother's wife (Another King Herod).

Instead, Christ was born to a humble family, which was conducive to the upbringing of the only begotten Son of God. How amazing is that? And how important it was for the young Christ Child to get off to the right start, for as Matthew 1:21 put it, "He shall save His people from their sins."

Luke 2:51 reports that Christ was obedient to His parents. Luke 3:52 says He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

On Easter, we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins according to the scriptures.

On Christmas, we celebrate the beginning of God unfolding His plan of the Gospel. We celebrate the birth of Christ, the childhood of Christ and even the life of Christ.

The birth, childhood and life of Jesus Christ is important, because there we learn of Christ's humility, His keeping of the law, His sinlessness and the example He gave us to live by (I Peter 2:21).

Christianity is not just about not drinking, smoking, cussing, or indulging one's self. It's not about voting Republican. It's about the worship and admiration of Jesus Christ.