DAY 16: The Lowly Manger
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” – 2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
My Thoughts:
The Apostle Luke tells us that the Messiah has come who brings salvation to all and He is a King and the Son of the Most High God. And so we can understand why the wise men first went to Jerusalem, the capital city, to worship the Christ child, the ‘king of the Jews.’ But he was not there.
Jesus, the Christ Child, was born not in Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem, 7 miles south of the capital. He was born not in a palace befitting a king, but in a shed or cave full of animals. He was laid to rest not in a beautiful crib, but in a manger trough. He was not dressed in expensive garments, but wrapped in strips of clothing. This was a lowly birth on all accounts.
And God intended it to be this way. We can see the hand of God in the outworking of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth—in the decree from Caesar Augustus to send Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and the innkeeper’s full house which sent them to an animal sty nearby. Which begs the question: Why the lowly birth for the Messiah?
The Nativity by Jon McNaughton
God could have entered this world as the ‘Angel of the LORD,’ as He did numerous times in the past (see the Old Testament). But instead God chose to enter our world as our Savior in the humblest way possible—as a helpless newborn babe born in poverty. The means of Christ’s incarnation reflects God’s character and heart. For the last will be first and the first last. Christ was the most humble and obedient of all who have ever lived. As the Apostle Paul says:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” – Philippians 2: 5-9 ESV
God chose to come into our world in lowliness to show His loving-kindness, power, and mercy to those who were humble of heart and seeking Him. This is also why the angels announced Christ’s birth to poor shepherds in the fields and the star led the foreign wise men from a far off place.
Prayer:
Lord Christ,
we confess our readiness to accept your forgiving love
but also our refusal to forgive and love others.
We confess our eagerness to grasp your offer of redeeming love
but also our resistance to follow you without question.
In this Advent time, forgive us our failure to respond as we should.
Come to us anew, and by your grace, help us to receive you
with joy, as the shepherds;
with gratitude, as Simeon;
with obedience, as Mary;
with love, as you have loved us.
Even so: come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
