7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 English Standard Version
The spouses and children of
military service members all receive and carry DoD ID cards. These cards
authorize them certain privileges, shopping at the PX or Commissary, access to
Moral Welfare and Recreation facilities, medical care, and entrance to military
installations. As the spouse of a retiree, Christy enjoys continued access to all
the above even should I pre-decease her. The military recognizes the role and
sacrifice that life in the military entails and authorizes her those privileges,
apart from me. She will always be “my dependent.” The term carries a certain
cachet, and sometimes a pejorative whiff.
Sometimes, especially with older
teenagers, the term dependent implies a bit of insult, as if you were lower
class. Its use continually reminds you that your rights and privileges depend
upon someone else's benevolence. Should a dependent misbehave egregiously, the
military will curtail their access to military facilities. If the service
member is stationed overseas, they can be returned to the states. As a
lieutenant, I had to sit down and regularly counsel the son of one of my NCOs
who could not bring himself to behave appropriately. As a single mother, she
asked me to help by providing a positive male role model for her son who was
struggling. When I informed him that should his attitude and actions continue
to deteriorate, I would send him home he changed both, though he deeply
resented being a “dependent.” At our hearts we are a surely independent lot,
and that often causes us no end of grief. Being dependent upon someone else wounds
our pride and insults our sense of independence. Being dependent makes us
beholden to a higher authority. We instinctively understand the limitations
being dependent places upon us. If we are so charry of, or insulted by,
dependence, imagine what it felt like for Jesus.
The being that spoke the universe
into existence was now totally dependent on one of His creatures! And not only
was she a created being, she was probably a teenager. Jesus allowed Himself to
be utterly dependent upon the tender ministrations of a fallible young person.
His earthly father wasn’t even rich, just an average blue-collar type from a
very small burg in an occupied Roman territory. Talk about a step down.
I enjoy life as an adult. As I
mentioned recently, I would not really want to return to being a child. Oh, the
lack of responsibility might seem nice for a while; but, having to comply with
so many other people’s demands would wear thin rather quickly. One of the
things that I like about retirement is the freedom I enjoy. Each morning at the
end of breakfast, I ask Christy, “What do we want to do today?” For the first
time in my adult life, I control my schedule. I do what I want when I want. I
eat what I want. I wear what I want, and within reason, I do what I want. Of
course, Christy gets a vote; however, she usually says, “Whatever you want to
do.”
Jesus enjoyed much more freedom.
Yet, He gave it all up. From King of the universe to drooly, poopy, clumsy infant
all in one moment. He set it aside to fully understand me. He knows what it’s
like to chafe at the restrictions we place on each other. The hands that flung
the stars into space could not grasp the lightest object. The feet that strode
across the newly formed earth could no longer walk. He had to be carried. And
the mind that conceived physics and molecular biology, could no longer form
words. All of this and more disappeared at once. He did this to be near us, to
understand us, to know us intimately, and ultimately to save us. Almighty God,
now a dependent.
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