Day 15: O Little Town of Bethlehem

Truly, the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem and fulfilled Micah’s prophecy, humanity gained hope for salvation through the Messiah coming to earth. Jesus was born as a man to live a perfect life and to suffer and die on a cross for the punishment of our iniquities. In the quiet, little town of Bethlehem, the everlasting Light of the world came for us.

As far as locations go, Bethlehem (monumental in both the Old and New Testaments) is as humble as they come. This town is located ten miles outside of Jerusalem; and from just looking at it, you would not see anything that would make you realize how significant this little place is. There are no castles or grand buildings there; it isn’t a wonder of the world on any map. And yet, Bethlehem was picked as the birthplace of the Messiah by God Himself.

Bethlehem shows us a very important lesson in the Kingdom of God—that He uses the humble things of the world to confound the proud. When Jesus explained to His disciples how the Kingdom of Heaven works, He told them, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). Paul reiterates this same message in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” This teaching all stems from the fact that as children of God, we see how low and humble we are in comparison to our holy God. He is the only one that is worthy of all praise! Who are we in comparison?

And yet He loves us and chose to come to earth as a baby to make a way of salvation for us. He wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to be His children. He showed us an example of how we should humbly serve others when Jesus Himself washed His disciples’ feet. The God of the universe bent low to serve, and He humbled Himself even to death on a cross. This is a picture of the Kingdom of God.

Who can we humbly serve today? Be in prayer that God would show you His kingdom today—how He uses the weak things of the earth to His glory. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us guidance and a purpose and for being our strength and Redeemer!

“Oh little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark street shineth,
the everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.”
- Phillips Brooks
O Little Town of Bethlehem