“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12
It seems illogical–God choosing to enter our world through the normal process of human birth. Actually, it was a not-so-normal birth through a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit. It’s irrational that Joseph, a good, righteous man, would not divorce Mary knowing this was not his child. But there it is… the marvel and miracle of Christmas expressed in the most outlandish of scenarios. But it gets even more outlandish. This child who was to be named Jesus (meaning the Lord saves), God in the flesh, was born in a filthy cow stall and placed in an animal feeding trough. To top it all off, Jesus, also called Emmanuel (God with us) would deliberately give Himself up to fulfill a singular purpose—to pay the price for our sins through a cruel death on a cross. Is that not an illogically crazy plan?
I wonder if the angelic host scratched their heads too. If one of us were writing the story, we might at least have imagined the Son of God gloriously appear as a king or a mighty warrior, not as a baby born this way—and certainly not in a filthy cow stall.
Pondering this inexplicable mystery of God who entered our world by humbling Himself to save us never ceases to arouse awe in me. Oh, the wonder of it! I wish that everyone could grasp the wonder of this moment in human history.
Three powerful realities of the Christian faith encapsulate the glorious mystery of God’s Incarnation and love for us—the baby in a manger, the empty cross, and the empty tomb. As wondrous as each of these is, the visual image of the Christ child—God in the flesh—lying in a feed trough in a cow stall, rather than a palace, could arguably be the most mind-boggling of these wonders.
How could it be that the Creator of the vast universe and everything that exists would stoop to such a low and unimpressive entrance to our world? Is this how a king should come—especially the King of kings? Yet, it is precisely this mysterious entrance of God into our world that compels us to fall to our knees in awe, wonder, and amazement at God’s nature and matchless love for us which we celebrate at this Yuletide season. This was no human idea. It was the deliberate, purposeful act of a loving and compassionate God for those He created in His image.
So, let me ask you. Where do you and your family stand on the “awe and wonder scale” at Christmas? Here’s an idea—if you aren’t already doing it—that could up that awe and wonder needle a bit. Remove the Christ child from your crèche or nativity scene and wrap it in a simple package with a gift tag labeled: To: (Your family), From: God. Place it under the tree to be the last gift you open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. After opening it, replace the Christ child in the crèche, read Luke 2:1-20, then use the moment to talk about the significance of how Christ came to dwell with us. What would it have been like to be one of those shepherds?
In the midst of all our worldly holiday distractions, perhaps this might be a profoundly simple way to engage with the wonder and awe of the real Christmas story. After all, this was the moment in which the angelic host sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” Let’s follow the example of that angelic chorus by giving glory to God in the highest—who chose to humble Himself to dwell among the lowest. Oh, the wonder of it all!
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