Lying in a Manger

December 6

(Luke 2:11-12 NIV) “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. {12} This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

(John 1:9-14 NIV) “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. {10} He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. {11} He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. {12} Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—{13} children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. {14} The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The angels told the shepherds that Christ the Lord had been born in Bethlehem. The Messiah had come -- but in a way that no one could have imagined. He had not come as a conquering king, but as a baby. He would not be found in a palace bed with satin sheets, but wrapped in rags, in a manger where animals slobbered and drooled over their feed. He would appear poor and helpless, but they would be seeing the King of kings and Lord of lords. Would they believe the angels? Would they recognize the Savior that God had sent? Will you believe? Will you recognize Him? The baby in the manger is the Creator of the universe. He is God in flesh. He is the Judge who sits on the great white throne -- who separates the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, and the lost from the found. He is both Savior and Lord. Will you believe, and embrace the Christ of Christmas? -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day