Читать книгу Heart & Home for Christmas - Victoria Duerstock - Страница 11

MEEK & MILD

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped

Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger.”

luke 2:7 (esv)

The King of Glory, a babe in a manger. God’s only Son, Redeemer of all mankind. Laid in a manger. Indeed, God uses the humble things to confound the wise. Instead of a royal announcement, the shepherds heard from the angels. Instead of pomp and circumstance for the Lord of all creation and Messiah, Jesus had an unassuming birth to simple parents in a stall intended for animals.

A manger is simply a feeding trough for outdoor animals. Scripture tells us that work animals stay close to the manger because they can go there for sustenance. Now forgive me for comparing us to work animals like oxen, and bear with me a moment (the Bible does compare us to sheep, though!). If animals are conditioned to remain close to their source of food for the strength they need, how much more should we, as Christians, lean in and remain close to the message of the manger?

Lord, as I prepare my home for Christmas this year,

help my heart dwell on the truth of the simplicity

and humility of the manger.