Merry Christmas!

Photo credit:  Free-images.com

Imagine Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. They’re exhausted, Mary has gone into labor, and all the rooms in town are taken. Finally, they’re led to a stable, where at least Mary could rest and they would be protected from the elements. They may have wondered why God didn’t intervene in helping them find a proper place for Mary to deliver baby Jesus instead of being stuck in a stable with cows and sheep.

God, in His wisdom, wanted to use the circumstances of Jesus’ birth to teach us the holiness of humility. By allowing Himself to be born in a smelly stable and laid in a dirty manger – a food trough for animals – Christ united Himself with the poor, the powerless, and the humble. He proved that all people are precious to Him. 

Also, despite their crude appearance, the stable and manger became holy because the Son of God dwelt there. Since Christ lives in you, that means He can make YOU holy, too. Yes, YOU have holiness within you. You may see only your shortcomings and failings; He sees the beauty, goodness, and potential in your heart. You may think He won’t want to come to you or He won’t love you fully until you clean up your act. But look at how He came to us as a baby: in a smelly stable and dirty manger. He didn’t wait for a cleaner place; He was willing to use the lowliest of dwellings to deliver His message of love to the world. 

This Christmas, thank Christ for loving you, just as you are, and ask Him to make you holy with His loving presence. Offer to Him the ‘smelly stable’ of your day-to-day experience and the ‘dirty manger’ you see of your shortcomings. Open the door of your heart to Him and let Him transform you with His love. Let Him change you from someone whose heart may resemble something like a dirty ‘food trough’ full of things like pride and selfishness to a person who carries the love of Christ with them, who shows their world His humility and compassion. Let Him change you from someone whose heart may resemble a ‘smelly stable’ that houses bitterness and emptiness to a person who confidently shares the joyful news of God’s infinite love.  Let Him affect your every thought, word, and deed. Let Him make you holy.

Trust that He will use you, as He used the stable and manger that Christmas night long ago, to bring you closer to Him and help you bring His Love, Peace, and Joy to the world.

Merry Christmas!

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” –Luke 2:7 

“Lord, let the miracle of Your birth transform me this Christmas and make me more like You!” 

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2024 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

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P.S.

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