The Hope of the Manger

 



Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of the whole year. Growing up, I understood the true meaning of Christmas, but like any kid the presents and the food were always first in line inside of my head. To say, Christmas is about Jesus' birth and how he came to earth to save us from our sins, is one thing, but do we actually understand what that means for us, or are we just saying that because that is what we were taught as kids to say? The older I became, the more I started to realize how much more significant Christmas actually is. I mean, the beginning of the story already starts off bizarre! Mary becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. To me, that already is almost humanly impossible to comprehend, because it is something that does not normally happen here on earth. God sent His only son, to the earth as a baby, to be born in a dirty, smelly, and uncomfortable stable, so He could be killed for us. I don't think that would be easy for any parent, to give the thing they love with all their heart down to an evil world where they know they will have to watch Him become mocked, beaten, torn down, and killed. It is so hard to understand why He would do that for us, sinners who would hurt Him over and over again. 

The moment that Jesus was laid in the manger, we were given hope. Hope that we were finally able to have the intimate relationship with God that was intended for us to have since the beginning. That baby is not just any ordinary baby, he is our “knight in shining armour” who has come to save us from the depths of sin this world has us consumed in. The minute Jesus breathed His first breath on this earth, we had a way to save our souls and have an eternal Father who loves us and gives us a way to come home to Him some day. When we look around and see how messed up the world is right now, we can focus our thoughts back onto that wooden manger that held our hope and King who came to become vulnerable on earth and die so we did not have to pay for our sins. Imagine, being born and knowing your purpose on earth was to die for a bunch of sinners. Jesus had so much faith and love for God and us, that He was willing to live His life each day knowing that He would have to be brutally killed on a cross. Even though Jesus' end to His life was brutal, he also was born to bring hope, and God's message to everyone around Him. He came to become the teacher to the people and show them who God really is and how to have a relationship with Him and become saved. He was a walking, breathing, living example of God and we should all strive to be just like Him, a living proof of God.



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