READ: Luke 2:5-7 NLT
'Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.'
In a few brief verses Luke summarizes the birth of Jesus. Brief as they are, Luke offers us more details than any of the other gospel writers. That means that we need to treasure every detail that he gives us, and they are all amazing.
After placing the birth of Jesus within Roman and Jewish history we are given some very specific details about the birth. With the town crammed full for the census there was, not surprisingly, nowhere for the family to stay and after his birth Jesus was placed in a manger, a cattle feeding trough. The manger has been dolled up over the years and on many Christmas cards it looks like an idyllic place to be put straight after birth. But it wasn’t. It was just the only place that was available. It would have been smelly and unhygienic and the last place that anyone would want to use for a newborn.
The idea of God coming to this earth in human form is amazing enough. But for him to have made his entrance in the least suitable place at a time of profound political upheaval tells us much about the nature of our God. He could, of course, have come to a palace and had attendants waiting on him. He could have ensured that doctors were on hand and that servants would have ensured that every surface had been meticulously cleaned. As God he could have done all that and more. But he chose to come to this tangled, confused, distracted world just as it was.
He comes in the same way to you and me today. He doesn’t wait for everything to become ideal. He meets with us where we are and gladly enters into our lives.
QUESTION: Are you willing to welcome Jesus just where you are?
PRAYER: Thank you Lord that you showed the full extent of your love when you sent Jesus into the world. I praise your name. Amen.

Released on 25 Dec 2020