How deep indeed is His love for us? - by Laura Duke

I've been thinking about Christmas a lot recently (I wonder why that might be....), and I read something the other day that made me think about the indignity birth of Christ in a more focused way than I have before.
Some people may be surprised at my use of the word 'indignity', but think about it for a bit. The first thing that comes to mind might be the cramped and dirty location and the presence of smelly animals, but what about the birth itself? If I'm learning anything from my reading about childbirth lately, it's that childbirth is nothing like the way it's depicted in movies. There's a rawness to it. The would've been pain and blood, sweat and tears. Mary would've been exhausted, just like any mother after giving birth to her child. I'm also fairly certain that 'no crying He makes' is an inaccurate claim - Jesus probably cried to communicate his hunger and his needs, just like any baby.
All in all, it's not quite the serene picture we see on Christmas cards and in Nativity displays, is it? But I think it's far more beautiful, because when we see the pain and rawness of His birth, we are able to see a little bit more of the depths of His love for us.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" - Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" - John 1:1
Jesus is the Word at the beginning, one with God, the Lord most High. He was present at and responsible for the creation of the world, with such power and strength that we will never fully understand (at least not until He comes again!). To think that He loved His precious creation so much that He was willing to enter into it and become one of His very own creations. To enter the world, not in pomp and beauty and glory, but in pain, dirt, sweat, tears and blood. To grow up serving and loving others, only to be betrayed and killed by them, all so He could save them and bestow on them, on us who deny Him and sadden Him with our sins, the glory of his sinless and eternal life with God the Father.
How deep indeed is His love for us?