AN EMPTY MANGER
A three year old once gave a reaction to her Christmas dinner: “I don’t like the turkey, but I like the bread that he ate.” It’s funny how things appear to children in our Christmas celebrations; it’s even funnier still how adults see things. Recently I heard about a news story that a library was forbidden to place any religious images in the Nativity scene that was traditionally set up in front of the building. There were to be no wise men, no shepherds, no Joseph, no Mary, and no baby Jesus. Farm animals were allowed. Some would say that this is no Nativity scene at all, I would differ and say that this is the perfect Nativity scene.
Imagine for a moment, the day before Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem. The inn where they would come to seek a place to stay was already full with guests. Only the stable was empty of people but there were animals, sheep. Goats, cattle, donkeys living in the little stable, but empty of any people, except for an occasional visit by those who fed and cared for the animals. The stable was not intended for people’s comfort and certainly not for the birth of a child.
The empty stable is a perfect picture of our lives without Jesus Christ. We fulfill our purposes and achieve our daily goals as the stable was fulfilling its purpose that day. We go about our business but there is no real noticeable Divine Presence within us. No higher purpose to our lives. Hope is fleeting and joy is a momentary high that dies with the slightest glimpse of hardship. Doubt, despair, heartache are constantly at hand as long as there is no lasting peace present.
The message of the empty manger is a message of hope. God is seeking a place to be born in this world, to bring everlasting hope, joy, peace, and love. As He did over two thousand years ago in a lowly stable. Jesus Christ is looking for a place to be born in your heart today.
As there are always people who want to push the Christmas message out of our public lives, they accomplish a purpose of God by demonstrating the emptiness of the human condition. In their efforts, they are also showing forth the reality of life before the birth of mankind’s hope. Emptiness is waiting to be filled with the Presence of God’s love. The empty void left without the Child, Jesus Christ, of Bethlehem seeks to be filled with His presence. As your heart is waiting for peace and comfort, God waits to provide His Presence, His love.
Let God do something good in your heart this Christmas season.