Not Just a Disguise

"Look at me! I'm a newsboy!" Rhett pranced around the room in an outfit that included a brown cap, a gray vest, and a shoulder bag with old newspapers inside."You certainly look like a newsboy," Dad said. "What's all this for? A costume party or something?"Rhett nodded. "Yeah, our history class is having a costume party on Friday, and there's a prize for the best costume. I decided to dress up as a newsboy from the eighteen hundreds. Don't you think I look just like the real thing? I hope I win that prize!" He winced and kicked off his shoes. "Ouch! These shoes hurt!""Well, if you want to be realistic, that's good," said Dad. "Newsboys during that time were very poor, and many were homeless orphans, so their shoes probably didn't fit very well. They didn't always have a roof over their heads either, or three square meals a day. If they didn't make enough selling newspapers, they went hungry.""Wow," said Rhett. "I didn't realize how hard life was for them. I don't want to be the real thing. I just want to pretend.""That's what I thought." Dad grinned at Rhett. "But you know what? Jesus did become the real thing!""What are you talking about?" asked Rhett. "Jesus was never a newsboy.""No, not a newsboy," said Dad. "But when He came to earth, Jesus became human--the real thing--just like one of us. He didn't wear some disguise and pretend to be a man. He was still God, but He also became a man, just like any other man except that He never sinned. It's hard for us to understand how that could be, but it's one of the wonderful things about Jesus. Because He really and truly became human, we know He understands and cares about all the situations we face.""It would be tough not to have a home or enough food," said Rhett. "And I guess it must have been tough for Jesus to leave heaven and come to live on earth.""I'm sure it was," said Dad. "I remember an old song that talks about the huge difference between earth and the glories of heaven, which Jesus left. One line says, 'Only His great, eternal love made my Savior go.' We have so much to thank Him for!" - Tanya Ferdinandusz