DEVOTIONAL 05/27/2024
Luke 2
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
A manger today is an inspiration for many songs and writings. However, have we stopped for a moment to wonder why wonderful King Jesus had to have such a humble first abode?
The host of the inn, if there was any, could not accommodate for a childbirth priority. Even common babies today will have privileges to be hosted in life-saving hospital rooms equipped with comfort measures. When they are at home, they would be placed in beautiful cribs with colorful toys around to entertain them. Humans have treated childbirth events seriously; and we should continue to do so. For The Lord Jesus Christ, He did not receive favorable treatment as a newborn. An author remarked “Could not an omniscient, loving, all powerful God have arranged a room at the inn? Or even better, could he not arrange for Jesus to be born in a palace with midwives, servants and clean water?” (Department of Physics and Astronomy: University of Rochester, n.d.).
Jesus did not come on earth with all the richness that Father in heaven possesses. This reminds us of the passage in
Isaiah 53
1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
The Bible affirms us that The Coming Christ will not have an appealing appearance. Now with His humble beginning, we are in awe with The Lord’s humility. Jesus could call upon Father to give Him all advantages possible, but He chose to experience struggles that a regular human being goes through. In these two passages, we even see the lower treatments given to Him.
We must learn from the Savior not to occupy our mind with outward appearance, possessions, and advantages because all these things shall vanish shortly in comparison to eternal glory.
Moreover, we must not use our disadvantages or issues as an excuse not to serve. We must consider that short-term instant benefits may not be there. Humble beginning did not stop Jesus from achieving great things. He went on to become the Savior that brought salvation to the whole world. If Jesus had refused the task on the cross because He came from a poor background and He received bad treatment, all of us would have never received the benefits of mercy and eternal salvation.
Sam Christian
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Acknowledgements
Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.
The Bible used is the King James Version by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA (King James Version Bible Large Print Thinline Edition, 2016). Some parts of this work may be inspired during attendance at Deeper Life Bible Church, Bronx, New York.
Style of quotation followed partly the APA style-7th edition.
Reference was created using citefast.com.
Quotation format was consulted through https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/direct-quotes/#:~:text=You%20may%20quote%20a%20word,it%20as%20a%20block%20quote.
References
(n.d.). Department of Physics and Astronomy: University of Rochester. https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~tim/study/Why%20a%20manger.pdf
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