Inspiration comes from all kinds of places.

Each Christmas, I ask God to help me see the nativity with fresh eyes. I read the traditional passages from Matthew and Luke, I soak in the prophecies of Jesus’ birth from the Old Testament and look up testimonies from historians like Josephus. I’ve explored the stories of the shepherds, the Magi, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, and have even pondered the wonder from the angels who announced His birth. But this year, God used an artist to help me see the birth of Christ from a new angle.

I have long been a fan of Kevin Carden. His Instagram account is flooded with beautiful, thought-provoking Biblical art, but when I saw his latest, my heart nearly burst.

This stunning piece is entitled “First and Last Breath”.

I have always known Jesus was born to die, but this painting makes it profoundly real to me in ways I have never considered before.

He was born rejected, reduced to entering the world via a humble, smelly barn, and died rejected, marked as a criminal.

He was born in Bethlehem because of an edict from the strong arm of the Roman government, and He was sentenced to die by Roman authority.

At His first cry, His lusty bellow flooded the small space with life. At his death, His cry, “It is finished!” reverberated across time and space.

He was born naked, and he died naked.

When He arrived, angels rejoiced and shepherds worshiped. At His death, a lone centurion declared, “Surely this was the Son of God.”

At His birth, a star led Magi to his feet. At His death, darkness covered the earth as the ground shook and the dead arose.

Yet, there is one stark difference between the birth of Jesus and the moment He willingly laid down his life.

When He was born, his mother swaddled his legs and arms close to his tiny body for comfort. For health. For warmth. When He died, he was nailed to a wooden cross, His arms stretched wide.

And His arms are stretched wide still.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38

“Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the [j]Dayspring from on high has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78-79

From His first cry to His last, Jesus announced the arrival of hope. Of peace. Of forever.