Food for Thought: Away in a Manger

This time of year many Christians contemplate the birth of Jesus. The details, like the angel’s song to the shepherds or the gifts of the wise men, are familiar from childhood. Even the apparent minute details of the Bible have significance.

From His lowly birth to his shameful death, Jesus lived a life of rejection. We all know that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn. But why in a manger? I assume the feeding trough was a better option than a dirt floor, but surely there is some significance to this small point; God isn’t One to waste words.

A manger is a feeding trough for animals. This implies that Jesus came to us as food! God doesn’t just want to be the Creator in heaven but our content within us.

Furthermore, Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. This fulfills the prophesy in Micah 5:2 concerning the Lord’s birth, but it also points us back to the Lord’s purpose. Bethlehem means “House of Bread”. Why is that significant? In John 6:48, 57 the Lord says:

                  “I am the bread of life.”

                  “…so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.”

Jesus was born in a feeding trough, in the “House of Bread” because he came to be nourishment to man.

The Lord did not stop as a loaf of bread, but went smaller still in Matthew 15. In verse 27 the gentile woman likened the Lord to crumbs that have fallen from the table. The God of this universe came as a crumb, small enough for anyone to take in. This means regardless of our status we are qualified to partake of Christ and enjoy Him for all that He is. Eating is something normal and necessary for our physical life. Our spiritual life also must consist of eating and feasting on the Lord.

I hope you’ll remember this as you take time to honor and celebrate the Lord this week.

Bible references: Luke 2:7, Micah 5:2, John 6:48, 57, 15:27

We are God-bottles.

Today in a bible study, along with a few other members of Christian Students on Campus, I shared about God's purpose. We had a demo with water bottles to make the message more clear. :)

The bible shows us that... God's eternal purpose is to have a group of people created in His image and likeness to be filled with Him as life to express Him and represent Him. For the sake of keeping this post as short as possible, I am not typing out the verses, just referencing them.

God is like the perfect water bottle. We are like the empty water bottle, made in His image (Gen. 1:26).

Genesis 2:9 says man was placed in front of two trees - the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life, which represents God Himself. By eating of the tree of life man would have fulfilled God's purpose. But that didn't happen. Instead, man disobeyed God, ate from the wrong tree, and became a sinner. (I glued dirt all over the bottle. Sticky business.)

Two crucial aspects as to how this vessel^ is not fulfilling its purpose - it is dirty (a sinner) and doesn't contain the right element (God's life). Despite the two problems, God continued to carry out His plan by sending His Son to die on the cross for us (Heb. 9:22), so our sins would be forgiven, washed away (Jn. 3:16, Acts 3:19).

Praise God, we are justified when we repent and turn to God (Acts 3:19)! However, God doesn't want us to stop there. Man is back to his original state, in front of the two trees. Man needs to be filled. 1 Corinthians 15:45 tells us Christ became a life-giving Spirit. As the Spirit, God can now fill us with Himself (Jn. 20:22).

By being continuously filled with more of God's life each day, we can express Him. Yay!

How does God dispense His life? With our cooperation. By our reading of His Word (Col. 3:16), and by our fellowshipping and spiritual building up with other believers (2 Tim. 2:22, 1 Pet. 2:9). 

Let me know if you'd like a more in-depth explanation or have any questions. :)