As a parent I am sure you have held your baby and wondered what his future would hold. No doubt you prayed over him as you cradled him in your arms and dreamed big dreams for the child God has blessed you with. And, like many parents, you have anticipated that he would be smarter, faster, and much more talented than all the other kids.
Do you suppose Mary and Joseph did those same things with Jesus? After the angels announced his arrival. After kings brought him gifts. After all the attention, do you suppose they expected him to be better than every other baby on the block?
But scripture doesn't record any supernatural abilities that He displayed as an infant. There's no mention that He was any smarter, faster or more talented. He was a baby. He was a baby that grew gradually, like your child, "in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52). And even though He grew normally, Scripture assures us that the grace of God was upon Him.
As you seek to raise your child in that same grace, remember that it's a gradual process and it won't happen overnight. It's the little things you do with your baby. The everyday tasks. The bedtime hugs. The sweet stories read under blankets. Those are nurturing your child to grow gradually to become more like Jesus.
