From The Squalor Of A Borrowed Stable

I'm a country gal, so I'm one of these people who simply loves the smell of a farmyard. 

 

However, whilst I love the smell whilst I'm out walking, it's not a smell I would like in my own home.  Far less, when I was giving birth.

 

We tend to have a preconceived, polished idea about the nativity scene: we send each other Christmas cards with an air-brushed Madonna and baby.  The shepherds and wise men are strategically placed to frame the newborn baby and the animals look as though they have just been washed and cleaned for the occasion.

 

But the reality is that Jesus was born in amongst the animals.  It would have been messy and smelly and dirty.  It wasn't a clinical, sterilised maternity ward with midwives on hand to ease this new mother's birth.

 

"[Mary] 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."

 

[Luke 2:7 NLT]

 

When you think that God could have chosen to enter the world in any way possible, we must ask why He chose to be born in such dire conditions.  The circumstances of His birth are hardly the stuff of fairytale.  Nor do they suggest His true identity or royalty.

 

But I love that Jesus was born into a messy, dirty situation.

 

It reminds me that He lovingly steps into the mess of my life, too.  I don't have to 'clean up' or make myself tidy or 'presentable'.  I don't have to tidy the mess of my life before I can come before Him.

 

I don't have to pretend to be perfect, or go through some sort of ritual to make myself good enough to come into His presence. 

 

And what's more, I know that He understands what it means to live in messy conditions - both literally and metaphorically.  He can understand my struggles.

"This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

 

[Hebrews 4:15 NLT]

 

 

That's the kind of King I want.

 

 

 

This Little Babe

There have been lots of Christmas programmes on TV recently with recipes and decorating suggestions and gift ideas - all sorts of things to help us prepare for Christmas.

 

Several things that I've watched recently have mentioned the fact that Christmas is all about the family, but something I watched this afternoon kept repeating that Christmas is all about children.

 

However, I would suggest that this isn't quite true.  Chrstmas is not all about children.  It is all about one child.  It is all about the baby Jesus, the child of God.

 

Luke writes,

 

"There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood.  They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them.  They were terrified. The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid.  I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master.  This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.'"

 

[Luke 2:8-12 MSG]

 

A Saviour who is Messiah and Master. 

 

I always marvel at the idea that the shepherds (and later, the wise men), worshipped a baby.  I can understand someone worshipping a King, or worshipping a god.  But worshipping a baby?  The shepherds understood something about this child which we can so easily miss.

 

I love the words in this song, 'This Little Babe' by Benjamin Britten which tell of the true nature and identity of this tiny baby -

 

This little babe, so few days old

Has come to rifle satan's fold

All hell doth at his presence quake

Though he himself for cold do shake

For in this weak, unarmed wise

The gates of hell he will surprise

 

With tears he fights and wins the field

His naked breast stands for a shield

His battering shot are babish cries

His arrows looks of weeping eyes

Jesus was no ordinary baby.  He was the child of God and He was worth worshipping.

 

Christmas is all about the child.