“For this is what the prophet has written:
“’But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel!” – Matthew 2:6
Throughout the Bible, God reminds us to be humble, but never so much as in the birth of His Son.
In the Nativity, we see the humility of being born in a stable in a very small town. We see our Lord lain in a manger surrounded by animals. (To those of you who are mean to animals, maybe you should think about that… Perhaps it should mean something to us that God chose to be born among the animals?)
His mother was young, practically a child. His earthly dad is someone we know very little about.
Then we look at the symbolism of the rest of it. God painted a beautiful picture out of the symbolism of Christ’s birth.
He was visited by Kings and shepherds. The lonely solitary life of a shepherd who comes empty-handed is a sharp contrast with that of someone who lives in a palace and brings fine spices and gold.
Look at that. Look at how God includes all his people in the span between kings and shepherds. No one is too lonely or too powerful to come to Christ, even as nonsensical as it can seem. They were led by a star and informed by angels. Today those people would be laughed out of town.
That’s not even to mention that our Lord is a shepherd and a king. ❤️
My favorite part though. My favorite part is where God made sure to include the fact that there was no room for them anywhere but in that barn. No room for the most important person who has ever lived… no room for *God Himself.*
If you feel like there’s no room for you anywhere, if you feel like an outcast or a stranger in a strange land, if you that you’re so unimportant that your best friends are animals who won’t hurt you like people do, if you feel like you’ve taken a long long journey only to end up in a barn…
So did our Christ. That’s how He started life, and He saved our souls for all eternity.
Traveler, it’s not over. You’ve only just begun, and the God of the universe sees you and has a special place in His heart for your struggle.
He sees you, He knows you, He loves you. The Savior of all creation loves YOU. ❤️ All is well.
