Can you imagine having a baby in a stable area? Not only that, but you must use a feeding trough as a bed for him. Of course, two thousand years ago was a different time. Electricity hadn’t been invented yet and all our modern conveniences were far into the future.
I am sure most of us would not dream of having a child in a stable. I’m also sure that wasn’t Mary’s first choice. Yet, there is an amazing thing that happens to us as humans…we adapt. When we have no other choice, we make do with what we have.
Perhaps that is why it is when we are at the end of our rope we turn to God. We have nowhere else to turn. We can no longer do for ourselves. We must rely on God. In the case of Mary, she had already given herself up to God. A good example for all of us.
If you have never been at the end of your rope, never been in a place of ultimate need and sheer helplessness, you likely don’t fully know what it means to give yourself up to God. That’s not to say you aren’t giving part of yourself up. I believe we all give up some to God.
Mary made do. The feeding trough became a cradle. The straw or hay became a mattress. A few cloths became baby blankets. And here is the real kicker—the baby had no care in the world about any of it.
God had planned the day. He had planned the setting. He put all things in motion to happen according to His plan. And He showed up in a stable to a young girl who wasn’t yet married and a man who wasn’t sure about all this until the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him it was alright. Oh, what trust God put into a couple of young people!
We should rejoice that our Savior was born on that day. We should rejoice over the awesome plan God put in motion. We should rejoice that we have a golden promise from God to spend eternity with Him. We should rejoice always.
May this Christmas Day find each of us rejoicing. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit. May we love one another as God loves us, willingly giving up of ourselves for one another. May we give thanks to God for all He has blessed us with.
I pray we all rejoice with the heavenly host. I pray we give thanks to God. I pray each one us decides to love one another and show it as God has. Rejoice over the birth of Jesus. Rejoice over our Savior. Rejoice over God’s plan. Love one another. Let go and let God.
Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Marty Pressey 