Standing in awe of God's love

Awe. As Mary, Joseph, the kings and the shepherds gazed upon that tiny, perfect baby swaddled in the manger, that must have been all that overwhelmed them.

With his tiny hands that grasped their fingers, smooth eyelids closed in peace, and perfect little fingernails, their Savior and King lay before them. The one they desperately needed, the one their hearts ached for. The God of the universe was here. None of them understood, but their hearts did, and all they could do was bow down and worship.

They gave their hearts to him, the only thing that seemed even remotely precious enough to present to this King, as all the wonder, love and peace their hearts were made for gazed back at them through the eyes of a little baby named Jesus. He was here, and he was here to save them.

He is here today, and he is here to save us -- to save us from sorrow, from fear, from death. He is here to love us, in every way that we need to be loved, in every way that we are broken, in every way that we are lonely and scared.

He is here to be the wonder, the love, the peace our hearts were made for, and to shower us with his abundant life, to let us stand in awe of who he is, to let us stand in awe of a God who loves you and loves me so fiercely that he came down from a perfect, glorious heaven to this broken earth to experience every human emotion, temptation and suffering and conquer it all so that we would know the way his heart breaks for, loves and understands every single one of us.

The word we read in the Bible, the word that is the source of all life, took on human flesh to show us how to live on earth and to give us the hope of heaven.

He came to heal us. He came to love us. He came to forgive us and speak to us the truth of who we are in him. He came to know you personally and intimately, to fill the places in your heart that just aren't full without him.

This kind of love that Jesus is makes me stand in awe of him. It fills me with wonder that he would love me like this, and that I can't do anything about it but accept it and let it fill me until it overwhelms me and there is no denying that I am loved, caught in the most beautiful, divine love story of all time.

God gave us the best present ever when he gave us his only son 2,011 years ago, a tiny baby in a manger that still makes us stand in awe today. He knew exactly what we wanted and needed that Christmas and every Christmas to come when he gave us Jesus, when he gave us love.

Mia Pohlman is a Perryville, Mo., native studying at Truman State University. She loves performing, God and the color purple -- not necessarily in that order.