Jesus in a Manger

In pondering the Biblical narrative of the first Christmas, I was struck by several stark contrasts woven throughout the story.

Almighty God donned the fragile flesh of a helpless newborn. With all the wealth of the world at his disposal, our Lord chose a peasant girl to wrap him in rags. The pure, spotless Savior born among the muck and filth of stable stalls. Power to weakness, the rich becoming poor, the clean amid the unclean. And there are countless other antonymic themes embedded into this beloved story – the Light of the world shining into the dark of night, the expressed excitement of the angels versus the inferred indifference of the innkeeper, Heaven touching Earth, ordinary people cast in an extraordinary event.

But no contrast spoke to me more than the one, Jesus in a manger.

It is that time worn image we have romanticized and sanitized in our nativity displays. It is such a threadbare cliché, sung about in carols and recounted to children, that we often overlook the absolute absurdity of it - God laid to rest in a barnyard trough; this precious priceless gift nestled in the crudest of containers.

Pause and think about this setting. A pearl in a pigsty. A diamond in the dirt. The manger is as unbefitting God’s Son as a margarine tub would be for the crown jewels. Is there ever a greater disparity than this one?

But when I consider the personal narrative of my own life, there is another truth that rivals the utter absurdity of Jesus in the manger. Paul declares it in 2 Corinthians 4:7 when he states that we have a “treasure in jars of clay”.

He is writing about the Holy Spirit living inside of believers. The Son of God placed in a roughhewn bed of straw and the Spirit of God placed in a raw and broken soul. And through this dwelling and control of his Spirit, we can experience countless other spiritual contrasts - weakness transforming to power, poverty replaced by provision, darkness dispelled by light.

Help me God, this Christmas, to be awash with wonder and worship for you, the God who stooped to rescue fallen, frail and flawed people like me. Thank you that you are the Jesus of the manger.

Throughout this Day: Listen to "Manger Throne" by Phil Wickham and let it ignite your worship of our King Jesus.