God could have chosen to remain a distant God—a God high in the sky, looking down on his creation from above. Or God could have chosen to reveal himself in sheer terror and awe. Yet God chose to come near to human life in the form of a baby within the context of a human family. God drew near to humanity in a crude shelter in Bethlehem because life and love were there—because there was enough room for God to enter.
I heard a story once about a farmer who refused to believe that God would have chosen to come to earth in human form. I’ll call this farmer Steve. On Christmas Eve, however, while Steve’s family was at church, he began to believe. Here’s what happened: Christmas Eve that year was a cold, snowy night, so Steve had a fire burning in the living room as he lay in his recliner and watched TV. Suddenly, Steve heard a loud thud on the window. He tried to ignore the thud, but he couldn’t ignore it when he heard it again—and again—and again. Finally, he got up to see what was going on and he immediately noticed a couple of birds flying into his window. Feeling sorry for the birds—realizing that they only wanted to find a bit of warmth—Steve decided to try to direct them to his barn for the night. So Steve bundled up and got a flashlight and went out into the cold. He opened the barn doors and began waving his arms in an effort to guide the birds inside. Instead, the birds just kept flying into the window. Frustrated and cold, Steve thought to himself, “If only I were a bird. If only I could help them understand that the barn will provide them safety and warmth. If only I were a bird….” At the moment, Steve fell onto his knees and wept. At that moment, Steve understood: that’s why Jesus had come to earth. Jesus came in human form so that he could guide us—so that we would understand that it is him that we need to follow—so that we would understand that it is him that will guide us to safety and warmth.
And so Jesus did come. Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to earth in the form of a tiny baby that one Bethlehem night. An entrance as common as the dawn of a new day—out of his mother’s womb and into her arms—Jesus’ birth was nothing miraculous, and yet it was everything miraculous in the world. A king had been born into a simple family in a simple place. His birth was not heralded with trumpets or greeted by the important leaders of the land. Instead, his birth was celebrated with farm animals and greeted by shepherds—socially despised and economically deprived workers who were thought to be outside of religious respectability. Yet it was in those humble surroundings with those humble people that God chose to be born.
In a stable, there are no barriers. In a stable, all the poor, insignificant, unclean, forgotten people of the world can gather around the manger and dare to believe that the Babe who lies there belongs to them. God belongs to us just as we belong to God! God exists with us not in some strange, distant place but in the every day aspects of our lives. God is found in the familiar blessings of friendship and affection and in the daily beauty of patience and devotion. God is found in the dirty diapers and stuffy noses, in the crying baby at night when Mommy and Daddy just want to sleep, in the necessity of work, in the eyes of an ailing loved one. God is found in the humble surroundings of every day life. Do you see God in your life? Can you grasp how amazing it is to have a God who understands the joys and sorrows of life because he has been here in human form? Can you fathom that God has invited you, no matter how insignificant you feel, to visit him at the manger and beyond?
The fullness of God is revealed in God’s being born into this world in humble surroundings.
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