Have you ever wondered why God chose to present Jesus to the world by way of a cattle stall and not a throne? Have you ever wondered just once why He was born in such humble surroundings as an infant child?” Why come as an infant? Why live in such obscurity and poverty? Why not a palace or a throne? I’ve often wondered when he came on the scene why He did not receive all the royal treatment that was rightfully His in the first place. Well, when I really do stop and do some thinking about the manner in which He came I chuckle a little on the inside. “Isn’t that just like Jesus?” “Isn’t that just like the Father?”
He was humble, He was submissive to the Father and His plan of redemption was what made Him willing to come as He did. Jesus was all God and all man. He was and still is doing things contrary tot the logic of man. That’s the reason He is God.
But, back to the question, “Why did He do it this way?” First of all God had a plan. God’s plan included you and it included me. God’s plan included every person who was alive then and every person who would be born in the future. It was a personal plan and a purposeful plan.
Secondly, God was fulfilling His own written Word and spoken Word. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6) God has always kept His Word. Jesus has always kept His Word> (Matthew 11:28) “Come to me and I will give you rest”. Jeremiah 33:3, call unto me and I will show you great and mighty things you do not know. Romans 10:13, Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It should not surprise when the Lord still keeps His promises to us today because He has a proven track record.
Thirdly, God allowed Jesus to come the way He did, for an example to man kind today. He came humbly that we might know His genuineness and sincerity. He came willingly that we might know He cares. He came in poverty that we might relate to Him and He might relate to the most common of man.
God knew exactly what He was doing. I’m glad He does things HIS way and not my way. I’m glad He is God and has grace and mercy and forgiveness. I’m really not surprised at all by HIS ways because they always turn out perfectly. What a joyous time of the year Christmas should be! Too often at the Singley house as probably it is at your house “stuff” gets in the way of Christmas as God intended it to be. We worship the Incarnate Christ of Christmas. We don’t worship the place or the stall or the bed He laid upon or any other tangible evidence of the birth of Christ. We worship Him. He did it this way because it was God’s way that counted.
We don’t worship December 25, as the “day”. Egyptians hold to January 6 as the birth date of Christ. Clement of Alexandria and others suggest April 20 as the “day” or maybe even a “day” in May. The date is not the issue. The person of Christ is the issue. The fact that Christ was born in Bethlehem under a star does no good unless He is born in our hearts. The throne He desires most of all is the Throne of all our hearts. While I believe and promote and make it a point to say Merry Christmas to everyone I meet. While I say Merry Christmas when someone calls our home during the Christmas season, and while I believe strongly that Jesus is the Savior to all the world, we should not expect a person who has not allowed Christ to be born in their heart’s yet to understand nor be thrilled to say Merry Christmas. It seems the thrill of Christmas has long been gone about the 7th hour you have walked the mall over looking for that perfect Christmas gift.
Let me say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of You. 2006 we have proclaimed for our church to be “Caring, Contacting, Connecting”. Those three words sum up what we want to do this year. Care for people, contact them and then connect with them in whatever way we can to influence them for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
