The humility with which Christ came to this world defeated the wisdom of the wise and the expectations of the not-so-wise, not only at the time of His birth, but even now in the year 2011. How could any middle class family possibly deliver a baby in a Manger, let alone anyone who has a royal blood flowing in Him? And, to call Him a King was the maddest thing that could be pronounced in the ears of the Jews who expected a great and powerful king that would deliver them from the oppression of Rome. But, putting all confusion and unbelief aside, the One who would deliver the Jews from a more than Rome – the devil and his ever-burning hell – has just been delivered under the most unthinkably lowly conditions on earth.

Just a little bit of history: God created our first parents – Adam and Eve – perfectly and put them in a perfect garden where they needed to do little but eat plenty and enjoy life. They however decided to reject God’s instructions and went to camp with their archenemy, the devil. From this time on, man became a stranger to God; Adam and Eve ran away and hid themselves when God came to visit them after their disobedience. They became afraid of God and the once cordial and beautiful God-man relationship was ruined and destroyed. Everyone that was born thereafter, including you and I, became sinners at birth and strangers to God’s Kingdom. Since man needed (and still needs) God to survive and escape the wickedness of the archenemy, God struck a deal with man for animals to be killed and their blood shed to remit sins. As man multiplied and became progressively evil in thoughts and deeds, this deal became unsustainable and God needed to strike a permanent deal to save man, otherwise we were doomed to unending agony with Satan. Deploying His unparalleled love to clean up the mess caused by man, God decided to present Himself in the form of flesh and blood that man is familiar with, to save humanity from destruction.

But, how could God choose a Manger of all places to deliver Baby Jesus? Our loving God did not want to exclude anyone from salvation. If He came in His riches and royal apparels, the very poor would never consider Him as one of their own and He would have been too far away from the bulk majority of the people He came to save. Not everyone could visit the king’s palace; you would be sent back from the gate, but everyone could certainly visit a Manger. One other reason Jesus came in a Manger was to teach the whole world that anyone who wants to lead must be ready to humble himself and serve. Today, many are called servants of God but, with due respects, some are actually acting as managers of God or what a gospel songs minister called ‘big men of God’. Jesus was so humble that He washed His disciples’ feet and He expects those who serve in God’s Kingdom to do the same.

Jesus came in a Manger so you and I who were estranged from God need no longer be strangers but sons. He humbled Himself to do the work of redemption, even to the point of death. He could have ordered a legion of Angels to deliver him from the hands of the soldiers who killed Him but He remembered that He came on a mission to save man. Are you yet to recognize His humbly offered salvation and accept Him as your Lord and Savior? There could be no better deal to save man than that offered by God Himself – an all-inclusive, never-exempting open arm that takes sinners as they are and washes them clean by putting their guilt on a sinless Substitute. Would anyone still reject such an offer? Well, those who do may need to note that this same Jesus will come once again soon. When He does, He will no longer be presented in a Manger but in His royal apparel. He will no longer be the Lamb of God to be slaughtered for our sins but He will be the Lion of the tribe of Judah that will deliver judgment to the unrepentant. When He does come, those who rejected Him because of His unparalleled humility will bow down to His royal majesty but it will be too late for them to be included in the Kingdom. It doesn’t look wise to let this offer expire. God bless you as you make the right choice today!

Merry Christmas y'all!!