And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.
–LUKE 2:7
I still marvel at the simplicity of Christ’s birth. Think about this … the God of the universe decided to send His only Son to Earth, and He decided to do it in the most humble way possible.
The earthly mother of the child would be a simple girl from a small town in a small country occupied by the oppressive Roman Empire. The earthly father entrusted to rear the boy would be a simple carpenter, not royalty, not a great warrior, and not a politician. The child would be born in an animal’s stable, resting his head in a feeding trough. He wouldn’t be clothed in fine silk, but simple, rough cloth. The birth of the divine Son of God wasn’t announced with an earth-shattering, jaw-dropping event, or a trumpet’s fanfare, but in the cry of the small helpless child.
But this humble birth would be the most important birth ever. It would quite simply change the world. Jesus Christ’s birth is the revealed promise of God that He will never leave nor forsake you. He sent Jesus, who sacrificed His life to bridge the gap caused by sin between you and your heavenly Father.
That child wrapped in a manger in Bethlehem so long ago is God’s gift to me and to you.
(To obtain a free copy of “The Cost of Christmas,” a 25-day advent devotional go to jackgraham.org, call 800-414-7693, or request it online at email@powerpoint.org.)
