Have you ever wondered what Jesus was like as a human child?
Christian doctrine teaches us He was sinless. Can you just imagine a youngster
growing up without sin? What a concept!
Does that mean Mary and Joseph never had to say, “Jesus,
stop that” or “Jesus, You’re in time out? Perhaps not.
I don’t mean to sound irreverent. I am simply awestruck at
the idea, particularly as a former child and now a parent. Jesus’ parents had
to be dumbfounded sometimes at His uncanny ability to grow up without sinning.
“Boys will be boys.”
Well, that is, unless that boy is the sinless Savior of the world. That
is not a facetious statement. It just boggles my mind.
Maybe that’s why I am so fascinated with The Infant Christ with a Floral Wreath,
by Italian Baroque painter Carlo Dolci (1616-1686).
Look at that face. The Child appears mature and wiser than
His years. Of course He is.
See the outstretched hand, that one day would willingly
accept a Roman spike.
Regard those soft, smooth, childlike feet. On that same dark
day, they would be hammered to a rough-hewn cross.
And that floral wreath? It would be replaced by a thorny
wreath, jammed into His head.
I wonder if the Christ Child was mindful of such things, as
He matured in human form upon the earth.
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor
with God and man.” (Luke 2:52, NIV)
The Infant Christ with a Floral Wreath
by Carlo Dolci
1663
The Scripture memory tips series is ongoing, but the April A to Z Blogging Challenge has started, and Heart of a Ready Writer is participating again this year. Watch for the Bible memory series posts, which may be interspersed with the Pictures of Jesus series during the month of April.
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