The Birth of Hope

Luke 2:6-7
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

The Son of God was born in a stable. The Lamb of God laid in a manger.

Could there be a more humble beginning for a king? After traveling around seventy-five miles with a pregnant wife who was due any day, Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem and cannot find any lodging. Why? Probably because of the number of people reporting for the census.

Now if I am Mary and Joseph, I probably would have thought that after being visited by angels and told about the eternal, dimension altering child that was to be born that I would at least find a peaceful, clean room for the birth. It was not to be so.

Could there be a more humble beginning for a newborn? Make no mistake this child was neither neglected nor unloved, but he was laid in a manger after being wrapped up in cloths. The environment was less than ideal probably unclean and certainly unsterile but God protected.

In this even the world was changed. In this, even my life was changed.

So was yours.

My life and your life has meaning, importance, and value. His birth, life, death, and resurrection demonstrate the great value placed upon you and me by our heavenly Father. The life we have been given while at times a hard and difficult path is blessed.

At this time of the pandemic, the Christmas Miracle actually means more than it did at last year just because of my place of need. My need for Jesus this Christmas is more than what I needed last year, and I am grateful he meets my needs both great and small.

Jesus came that we might have life. For most of us, that life can be a healthy life if we choose to make it so. Even for those who have physical short-comings and disease brought about by nothing they have done, living healthy can give them the strength to endure even their other physical challenges.

Triple D: Jesus came that we might live. Contemplate how you live today…