By, Sarah Alley
This is one of my favorite times of the year! I love seeing all the beautiful lights and decorations. It is even better to see the joy on my children’s faces as they enjoy the beauty of the season. They love spotting the nativity scene and shouting out when they see baby Jesus. Setting up the nativity is a favorite in our home. That is, until your littlest one decided to play with baby Jesus and misplaced the little figurine…it is hard to have the nativity set out without the baby.
This year, our church hosted a Night in Bethlehem where we transformed everything to look the way it did the night Jesus was born. The birth of Jesus is such a beautiful, humble moment. I am sure like any mother, Mary had a plan for how she wanted the birth to go and like many of us, hers probably did not go as planned but none of that mattered once she held her precious baby.
Our Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Messiah Christ, Jesus should have been born in a room grander than one for a king. He wasn’t placed in a bed for a king, placed in the best bassinet, or wrapped with the softest blankets. God himself took the form of a baby and came to earth to be placed in a feeding trough. He is God, He could have been born anywhere but didn’t. We often try to limit God with our expectations but what a beautiful humbling example our Savior was from the moment He was born.
Even more humbling is that the Shepherds were the first to hear of His birth. The shepherds were not who you would have expected to be the first to hear of Jesus but that’s exactly what makes the announcement so special. You see in Genesis 46:34, Shepherds were considered abominations to the Egyptians. They were considered unclean because of their job. Wow…how amazing is it that the first to hear of the birth of Jesus were those who were considered unclean. Our Savior took the form of a baby, was born in a place not worthy for a king, and the first to hear of Him were those who were considered unworthy. Jesus came here for all of us and not one of us is worthy of all that He has done for us. What a beautiful, humble beginning!
So this season as you pass the house with the beautiful nativity scene, you drive by it as your pull into your church, or simply walk by it each day in your home…stop for a moment and thank God for His humble beginning.