Thursday, December 20, 2012
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head,
The stars in the sky all looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
Away in a Manger may be one of the most popular Christmas carols. The simple melody and lyrics capture the Christmas spirit. I love to hear children sing this carol. Don't you?
But the lyrics are alarming. Jesus had no crib for a bed. Luke records this in 2:7, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him is swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
An inn wasn't a Holiday Inn. It was more like a guest room in a house. And since Bethlehem was full of guests, Joseph and Mary had no place to stay. What's startling is that no baby deserves to be born in a manger. But Jesus, the Son of God, ends up here. Why? Why would God ordain this? Why is Jesus born with no privacy? Why is He born without sanitation? Why is the Son of God born with little protection from the elements?
Charles Spurgeon is his sermon titled, "No Room in the Inn" offers this insight: "Would it have been fitting that the man who was to die naked on the cross should be clothed in purple at his birth?" The answer is no, it would not have been fitting for Jesus to be robed in purple at his birth. All his life he would be not much more than a peasant. Nothing is more fitting for Christ than to be born in a manger since he had laid aside his glory to take the form of a servant. When we deeply consider the humble birth of Jesus it adds depth to Philippians 2: 7, "(Jesus) made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." Nothing about the baby Jesus seemed supernatural. No halos, no special light shining down, just plain and simple poverty, the most humble birth. Yet all of it—every part of it, every single, solitary, seemingly random detail—was planned by the Father before the foundation of the world. To the unseeing eye, nothing looks less like God; to those who understand, God’s fingerprints are everywhere.
What can we learn from all of this? I think we can learn that God uses adverse circumstances that make no sense at the time to accomplish his will in the future. To Joseph and Mary, no crib was a huge problem. But as it turns out it was a huge blessing. I think it means that God wants us to know He is humble. He is approachable. He's the God who says, "Come to me, anyone can come!"Spurgeon concluded his sermon this way: "Even as an infant, by being laid in a manger, he was set forth as the sinner’s friend. Come to him, ye that are weary and heavy-laden! Come to him, ye that are broken in spirit, ye who are bowed down in soul! Come to him, ye that despise yourselves and are despised of others! Come to him, publican and harlot! Come to him, thief and drunkard! In the manger there he lies, unguarded from your touch and unshielded from your gaze. Bow the knee, and kiss the Son of God; accept him as your Savior, for he puts himself into that manger that you may approach him."
Thank you God for ordaining Christ's birth with no crib for His bed. By this, I know that I can come to You!
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