Unassuming accommodations. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. A stable? A manger? A feeding trough? Animals? Put me in charge and it would have been totally different. Mary and Joseph would have had a penthouse room at the Hilton. They would have had complimentary room service, an on call doctor, and a nurse who stayed with them around the clock. Somebody’s got to cut the cord! Boiling water and lots of towels. You know the routine. I would have had the best neonatal people nearby in the event something didn’t go as planned. No stone would be unturned. It would have been perfect. But, it was perfect.
Who would have thought that the Savior of the world would be born in a stable built specifically for animals? There was no cradle. There was no bed. There was no real protection from the weather except perhaps a roof. No doctor. No nurse. But, it was perfect.
Away in a Manger is a favorite Christmas Eve song. In churches across the world this familiar song will be sung. It is a simple song with simple words, but still describes the unassuming nature of Jesus’ birthplace. In a manger….no crib.
The first verse of Away in a Manger says it best.
Away in a manger, no crib for His bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
I also love the fact that Jesus is referred to as Lord. You know, sometimes we just sing the songs without thinking through the words. The tune is familiar and the words are memorized. We sing it and don’t even think about it. But, the author had it right. This baby Jesus was Lord. He was Lord, is Lord, and always will be Lord. The real question is whether or not we will recognize that and live like we believe it.
Regardless of whether or not you recognize Him as Lord, He is still Lord. What will you do this season to recognize Jesus as Lord? He was Lord as a baby and He is Lord as the risen Savior who sits at the right hand of God the Father.