HE CAME AS A CHILD IN A LOWLY MANGER

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:1-4, NKJV).” 

“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.  So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.  So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you:  You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men (Luke 2:1-14, NKJV)!’” 

In the beginning was the Word!  Jesus IS the Word!  He existed in heaven with God the Father and the Holy Spirit before He was planted inside Mary’s womb as a tiny baby.  Jesus always existed with God the Father and the Holy Spirit as one of the three persons of the Triune Godhead, and He created everything!  Enjoying all of the power and glory of heaven, He made the decision to come to earth, take on the lowly form of an infant child, be born in a lowly manger (feeding trough), live humbly as a human being with all of the limitations of doing so, surrender to the will of God the Father, and become totally dependent on Him to lead and guide Him and answer all of His prayers!  He performed the ultimate surrender by giving His life a ransom for the human race, and dying a cruel death on the cross for our sins. 

As we ponder these truths, the magnitude of His sacrifice and surrender for us becomes clearly evident.  That would be like a human being giving up all of the privileges and freedoms of being human and decide to become an ant, and live out his existence in that lowly state, suffer unimaginable pain, shame and humiliation for a crime he never committed, and finally surrender to death itself.   

Jesus was willing to do this for us because of His great love for us, and His overwhelming desire to reconcile us back to God the Father.  Adam sinned in the garden of Eden by eating of the one tree that he was instructed never to partake of.  The only way that man could be redeemed was by one perfect sacrifice on his behalf.  Jesus was the spotless lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus saw beyond the cross to the joy of seeing billions of people believe in Him and be reconciled back to God the Father.  Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and rejoined God the Father, sitting at His right hand.  This is the greatest act of love that was ever accomplished in all of human history!  It is also the greatest love story ever told! 

The fact that Jesus was willing to become a baby, live as a young child, and go through the process of growing up as a teenager, finally to become an adult, shows us the immense love and value that He places upon children and youth.  He had to become subject to His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph and learn and grow up to be a responsible carpenter, like His father, Joseph.  He had to depend upon His Heavenly Father for wisdom to grow into the miracle working Prophet, Priest and King that He was. 

As we continue with these posts, we will learn much more about this humble, amazing Jesus, and how He responded to the needs of children and youth.  We will also learn as well, how to value what God values, and not place value on what the world values and considers important that contradicts the Word of God. 

PRAYER

“Dear Jesus, we thank You for the magnitude of Your sacrifice in leaving the glories of heaven to take on human form.  We thank You for the love that it took to do this.  We thank You for experiencing every human emotion, and human suffering so that You could lead, guide and aid us as we go through our journey in life.  We thank You, that You know how to work through us and teach us how to relate to and mentor children and youth in every stage of their development as well.  Amen.”