“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
Devotional Thought For The Day
The thoughts that come to our minds as we read this and consider the circumstances of Christ’s birth are somewhat skewed. There were no “Holiday Inns” or anything of the sort in this part of the world and at this period of time. In fact, there were no “motels” or “hotels” at all, according to the scholars. Rather, people were generally hospitable and there were a number of a kind of “rest areas” provided for travelers along common routes. No parking lots, heated restroom facilities, or the like, but rather a structure [often made from bricks] that more resembled a large common barn with an area for livestock and small private areas off the common area for people to stay the night. The description provided in this account reveals that the private areas were all taken and that Mary and Joseph were required to rest in one of the livestock stalls in the more common area, where Jesus was born. Being wrapped in swaddling cloths [after a water bath and perhaps an application of salt] was long-standing custom, very much like the revived modern day version of “swaddling” practiced by some – limbs and all somewhat tightly wrapped. The manger would have been one of the cleaner and safer places to lay a child in such a “khan” or “caravanserai.”
It may also strike us as odd to read that Christ’s family suffered the effects of overcrowding on the occasion of His birth. This was the fault of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus – the Romans hadn’t gotten around to inventing a postal service, mass paper production, photocopying, or massive bureaucracy. It would seem more economical to have government agents doing the moving around and collecting data from people, but this would involve government expense [taxes] rather than private responsibility. However, the “enrollment” or “registration” almost certainly did have taxation as its final aim. So, even Jesus’ family experienced governmental interference and hassle, which contributed to the more difficult circumstances of His birth. At any rate, we can all identify with these difficulties of Jesus’ birth – especially some of our older people who may have been born in similarly difficult circumstances on the farm, at a time in America when hospitals were rare in smaller communities and transportation more difficult [even within the past century].
All of this should endear the Lord to us, that He identifies so fully and completely with us in our common human woes and experiences. Though the Magi envisioned a royal birth [Matt. 2:1,2], Jesus’ entry into the world was very much like our own. All of this to some degree obscures the majesty of His Divine Being, but reveals the nature of His love and care for us, no matter our own small circumstances. He was given the name Jesus – which means “the Lord [Yah, Yahweh, the only True and Living God] saves,” for as the angel indicated “He shall save His people from their sins” [Matt. 1:21]. John the Baptist similarly identified Him as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” [John 1:29]. Knowing that He entered into all of our experiences, even the most difficult, and that He fully and completely knows what is in man [John 2:24,25], helps us to relate to Jesus. First, it emboldens and encourages us to bare ourselves fully to Him; He is less shocked by what is in us than we are. Second, we are comforted and encouraged to know that Jesus fully identifies with our feelings and concerns – He is not above or aloof to the very gritty issues of human life. Finally, Jesus came precisely to deal with our sin and guilt with decisive finality; God is reconciled to us and does not count our sins against us [2 Cor. 5:19] but eagerly, sincerely, and graciously invites us to be reconciled to Him in His forgiveness and redemption in Christ Jesus, and to receive the renewing power of His love, His Spirit, and His life [Phil. 1:21; Gal. 2:20].
Cold is real, and we should feel it, including its discomfort. Sorrow is real, and we should feel it, deep heart-felt pain. Physical pain is real, and we must endure it at times, even when it is excruciating. Repentance is real, and we should also embrace it fully – all of the strange and dismal confusion of our insane desires, feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds. Forgiveness and healing in Christ are also real – and we should drink the reality in deeply, to the very core of our sinful being, where we need it most. Jesus already knows us, through and through, more thoroughly than we ever will – and He still loves us, for He has taken away all of our guilt and suffered all of our just punishment. The tendency of people today is to look at all of this, the tenets and thinking of Christianity, as superficial – a mere mental effort at philosophy or religion or spiritual speculation. We are influenced, and may experience “God talk” in the same way. But Christ’s nativity makes clear that it is all real, and that God is real, and that He wills the best and utmost for us far more highly than we can and do. So, wherever we are, no matter how humble or mean our circumstances, we can be sure that Christ is there with us – in the straw, the hay, the mud, the smells, the trouble, the misery, the shame – with His forgiveness and cleansing, with His power to save, holding and keeping us in His powerful arms of salvation, and keeping us in His kingdom forever. Thanks and praise be to God; glory to God in the highest!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forbid that we insulate ourselves from reality by the comfort we crave in wealth, privilege, ease, and the perverse distortions of our pride. Help us to embrace the experiences of life, of Your creation, even in our fallen condition, especially the reality and joys of Your salvation. Make our eyesight keener, our understanding fuller, our repentance deeper, our joy in Your redemption more compelling, and our love more comprehensive and pure. Be with us at all times, even as You have promised, and shepherd us safely home to Your kingdom. Amen.