For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you;  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  Luke 2:11-12 KJV

We know of the sacrifice that Mary and Joseph made.  Now, I am sure that many people doubted this whole virgin birth thing, so they no doubt faced scorn and ridicule.  Even Joseph was doubtful at first, but they accept that are about to become parents of the Messiah.  Then they get this decree that says they have to travel to Bethlehem.   They get there and here is Mary ready to deliver the baby and they can’t even find a room.  The whole town is booked up and there is nowhere for them to lay their head, much less give birth.  They find themselves in a stable of all places.  Now they weren’t traveling with a bassinet and a diaper bag.  So they have to wrap the baby in swaddling clothes, which is basically snuggly strips of cloth and lay Him in the feed trough.  Not where you would expect to find a king, right?

Now we know through scripture that God led the wise men and the shepherds to Jesus. But there were obviously a whole town full of residents and many visitors who had no idea what was going on right under their noses.

Put yourself in the position of the townspeople of Bethlehem or the others who came there for this census.  You see this young couple about to have a baby and they wind up in the stable .  Now you know, you might be shaking your head and saying something like, “kids these days” right?  You would be thinking about the fact that they should have planned better, they should have made reservations. They should have gotten here sooner. There would be some judgement going on.  But would you say, “sleep in my hotel room and I will sleep in the stable”?  I doubt it.  In all honesty, I don’t think I would.  I would probably just think that they should have planned ahead as I lay down in my nice comfy bed.  I would offer up a prayer for them. The Bible tells us that when we do good things for others, then we do good things for God. Matthew 25:39-40,  Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?  When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’   “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you:  Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

When Isaiah prophesied about this miraculous birth, many people were looking for a political king.  Maybe this is where that whole politic thing went wrong, but oh well, that’s a whole other blog.  No one expected this King to be born in a stable and be laid in a manger.  Ask yourself this question.  If you had been there in Bethlehem and had been booked into the presidential suite at their nicest 4 star inn, would you have offered your posh suite to Mary and Joseph?  Would you have put your own comfort aside and offered to go sleep in the inn and take their place and allow them to take yours in the suite?

Well, think about this.  Jesus was born in a manger in order that He might take our place on the cross.  He traded the comfort of heaven to come down here where he would be born in humble circumstances, begin his ministry at 30 and have no place to call home for three years until he was ridiculed, humiliated, beaten beyond recognition and hung on a cross.  Our sin put Him on that cross.  My sin and your sin drove those nails into His hands and feet.  So today are you willing to step out of your comfort zone for Jesus?  Are you willing to do good to others to show them the love of Christ?

Today we have an opportunity to put ourselves aside.  We have an opportunity to reach out to others and show them Christ’s love.  We have an opportunity to serve God and to honor Him by helping those in need.  I pray that we take full advantage of this opportunity.  You see Matthew 25:41 says that for those who did not help those in need that God will say to them, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!”  I don’t know about you but a fiery furnace is far from my comfort zone.  I would rather experience some discomfort here on earth and spend eternity in heaven than be comfortable here on earth and spend eternity in the fiery furnace.  Sounds like a no brainer to me, but you decide for yourself.

Have a great day!