God in the Manger

UV 4270/10000 God in the Manger And she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2 v 7 In this uni-verse, we witness the amazing phenomenon of God in a Manger. The priests of the time had a dog in the manger attitude of not wanting to enter heaven or the kingdom of God and not allowing others, the lay people also to enter by putting all kinds of moral and spiritual burden on them. Jesus, in contrast, was born in a manger so that all people of however low status, the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich could have access to heaven, the kingdom of God. He was born by deliberate choice, not an accident, in a manger to emphasize the complete empathy and identification of God with all mankind. The King of Kings being born in the manger, surrounded by cattle and their young ones, is the paradox of human history. God in the Manger lowers the barriers for entry for all to the kingdom of God. There is absolutely no external requirement to conform to in order to enter the kingdom of God. The only requirement is to believe that the baby born in the manger is God Himself, that He came by design, on purpose to save all without exception. That there was no room for Him in the inn, the One who created the entire universe, who is Lord of the entire creation was yet another irony lost on humanity. It was a sign that though God had lowered all the barriers, much of humanity was going to miss the opportunity due to their hardened hearts, their obsession with the externals, their blindness and deafness to the move and word of God. The innkeeper, the man who was nearest to the opportunity, missed the single biggest event in history- being visited by God, albeit as a baby while the wise men from a distant land with only the star as a sign and as a guide, made it all the way to adore Him, to lay their gifts humbly at His feet. God in the Manger is also a sign that God appears in the most unlikely places, to the most unlikely people. The mute cattle had God for their company on the first night after His birth. Joseph and Mary thought out of the box to find a solution to the problem of not finding accommodation. Augustus Caesar’s unusual order to hold the first ever census in the empire incidentally had forced them out of their humble cottage back in Nazareth to undertake this journey to their native village Bethlehem for all heads were to be counted where they hailed from including God, Jesus. It was as if God was orchestrating things so that the young expecting couple do not remain comfortably in their home in Nazareth. They probably did not anticipate that the labour pains would strike while they were on this journey. But all things happened for good of mankind and the glory of God that God was born in a manger. Is there a lesson for us, humans who are restless about wherever we are placed in life. When God, the Father could allow His Son to be placed in a manger, is it not apt for us to rejoice wherever we are placed right now in life.