Come to the Manger

I have heard the invitation in my heart throughout this season,

“Come to the Manger.”

It has echoed as I waited in traffic

and walked in crowded stores.

I have felt its pull as I listened in church

and read my Bible.

“Come to the Manger.” The words repeated in my head, and even though I pushed them away, they returned like persistent mosquitoes, always there when I was still enough to hear.

“Why the manger?” I thought. But even as I questioned, I could see myself sitting there among the animals and hay, watching in the night with the shepherds. There was no Baby. He hasn’t been in the manger for a long time. The Savior grew and taught and sacrificed Himself for the sin of the world, for my sin. Then He rose again and ascended to Heaven. Now, His Holy Spirit guides me as I abide in Him daily.

So, what is at the manger for me now?

Slowly, as I waited, I could see.

There at the manger I saw quietness. Not the bustle of busy that I often allow His festivity to be. Here God could remind me that He planned a simple celebration to welcome His Son. He invited simple people who needed hope. I have His permission to honor Him the same way. Who do I know who needs hope today?

There at the manger I saw peace. The Prince of Peace was born there. He came to show that God was not mad at the world but was offering a way to peace with Him. In the quietness and deprivation of that stable, there was peace.

There at the manger I saw God’s Plan. I am so good at making plans, but God’s plans are the best. The happenings at the manger were the culmination of centuries of God’s planning and working, and it was all perfect and complete. If He could do that, and He did, my life is certainly in good hands. The manger reminds me to trust His plan rather than forcing my plan.

There at the manger I saw simplicity. I saw animals doing what animals do, shepherds rough and weary from their nightly watch, a tired mother, a watchful stepfather, a sky that seemed to hover over its Creator with care, and I basked in the reality that God uses all people and all things to bring His plan to completion.

He didn’t need a king. He is one. He didn’t need a throne. He chose a manger and made it a throne. How delightful.

My visit to the manger was not to see a Baby. As I said, He isn’t there anymore, and we cheat and confuse ourselves when we continue to worship as if He is.

Still, the manger has lessons for me, and sometimes I need to

Come to the Manger.

“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 Savior, 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” (Luke 2:10 – 12, KJV).