It Began In A Manger

One of my favorite perspectives written on the Christmas story.  As we put ourselves to bed (the kiddo has been asleep for almost 2 hours) remember that night so long ago, when God, sent down His son to SAVE us.  Not to entertain, amuse or make our earthly lives easy.  God came to a manger, to SAVE us.  Nothing under our tree will ever compare but isn't it great that we can celebrate?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
It Began In A Manger by Max Lucado from UpWords Ministries

THE NOISE and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village. As night gave way to


dawn, people were already on the streets. Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of

the most heavily traveled avenues. Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops.

Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys

pulling carts.

The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town. After all, the inn was

full, all the beds taken. Every available mat or blanket had been put to use. Soon all the

customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do.

One’s imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his

family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night

before? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps

someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that

novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air?

Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken.

Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?

No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple’s arrival or wondered about the

condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day’s bread had to be

made. The morning’s chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the

impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that

morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently

in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse

scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor, perhaps perplexed,

perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion

of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear

him—so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

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Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can’t

remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that

Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes

grow heavy. He still hasn’t figured it all out. The mystery of the event still puzzles him. But he

hasn’t the energy to wrestle with the questions. What’s important is that the baby is fine and that

Mary is safe. As sleep comes, he remembers the name the angel told him to use . . . Jesus. "We

will call him Jesus."

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of

Joseph’s saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her

son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who

God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him.

Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel,

“His kingdom will never end.”

He looks anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and

healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon

Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.

Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the

presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of

eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And

worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet.

The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would

scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their

village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or

malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?