The Wonder Of ChristmasНамуна

No Crib for a Bed

Written By: Danny Saavedra

“She wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the lodging place. ”—Luke 2:7 (HCSB)

I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first child and we began preparing his room. We didn’t want to go with the traditional light blue baby boy room that practically every Cuban family in existence uses. Instead, we wanted his room to be sleek, hip, modern, etc. So we painted it, put up decorations, and got everything ready.

But of all the things I remember doing, what I remember the most was the amount of attention, care, and paranoia that went into building the crib. Why? Because this was the place where my firstborn’s little head would be laid each night. I wanted to ensure it was sturdy, comfortable, and wouldn’t collapse in the middle of the night.

Now, if we—an average, fresh out of college young family—were able to lay our son’s head each night in a nice crib, just imagine what kind of majestic, glorious, beautiful, and infinitely comfortable crib the King of the universe should get. However, when the King of kings was born, He didn’t have a nice Stokke Sleepi crib with a Tempur-Pedic mattress. Instead, the Savior was placed in a feeding trough where livestock would eat. It was basically a big rectangular stone farm sink sitting on a pair of cinder blocks!

So, from the humblest of towns, in the humblest of places (basically a barn), to the humblest of women (read Luke 1:26–55), the Lord was born and placed in the humblest of “cribs.” As surprising and unexpected as this should sound, when you get to know Jesus, it’s not surprising at all. Why? Because our Savior embodies and exemplifies humility!

In Philippians 2:6–8 (HCSB), we read that Jesus, “existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and as you prepare to head out to church, to receive your relatives, to dine on delicious food, remember what Christmas is all about. It’s not about the bells and whistles, the decorations, the lights, or the fancy presents in golden wrapping paper . . . it’s about rejoicing over the coming of our humble King, who came to save us from our hopelessness.

DIG: What is the most unexpected aspect of the Christmas story to you? Why?

DISCOVER: What does the humility of Christ mean to you? Why is it such an important and emphasized aspect of His character?

DISPLAY: Show the humility of Christ to someone today. Be creative!