Life in the Manger
And she gave birth to her first-born son;
and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn
(Luke 2:7).
It sometimes seems that what is important to God is not important to us,
and what is important to us is not important to Him.
Could it be that what appears insignificant in
our eyes is very significant in His eyes?
Jesus hides behind the little things we think are insignificant,
but most often we look for Him in the big happenings.
The Pharisees did not recognize Jesus when He came
because He was not big enough.
He came as a carpenter’s son.
He was only thirty years old and did not have a proper education
through the synagogue.
He was born in a stable and placed in a manger,
which is a long, open box or trough that horses or cattle eat from.
The Pharisees were waiting for the Messiah to appear as a mighty king,
but Christ appeared so normal.
There was no room in any inn for the King of
all mankind to enter the world in.
God planned this from the beginning
to show us the importance of the seemingly insignificant.
The Source of Life was found in a manger.
He was manifested there in that insignificant place.
He chose that place.
All too often we look for the Life in the mansions of our minds.
Fear will categorize our lives and tell us what is important and what is not.
Fear will always tell us to go after big things and leave the small behind.
Fear will tell us to hurry and get the seemingly important things done first.
Fear will cause us to rush and miss the value of small things.
Fear will compel us to want to be around those
whom we think are more important
and leave the less important people behind.
Who is really more important than whom?
In many of the visions of modern day prophets,
such as Rick Joyner and Bob Jones,
the most important people are seemingly insignificant people,
such as beggars who had only a small amount of love to give.
But it was not small to God.
Fear will blind us from seeing small things.
But guess what?
God is mostly in small things.
For some reason He manifests Himself through people
and things that we think are meaningless.
Some of us think our jobs are not important.
What if we start to think our jobs are the most important things
on this planet in God’s eyes?
If we put all of our hearts and souls into
the jobs God has given us right now
and consider them important, we will see God in them every day.
You see, fear will always keep us from enjoying the simple things in life.
Fear will keep us from seeing the Life inside the manger.
There is such a peace and joy when
the Lord opens our eyes and gives us the gift
of seeing and enjoying the simple things of this world.
May the Lord open our eyes to the Life inside the manger of His love.
There is love in the manger.
What mangers have we missed in our lives?
Where is our Messiah?
Are we looking in the right places?
He can be found in a very simple conversation with our neighbor’s children,
a homeless person or beggar, a friend who is grieving,
the sick and the needy, or an old friend.
He can be seen in the person right in front of you.
Make that person the center of your attention.
That person has so much value in the eyes of the Lord.
Start watching.
Focus on the moment and where Jesus is,
what He is doing, what He looks like.
He can be heard in the sound of a frying egg on the stove.
Make that sound the center of your attention.
Start listening.
Focus on what He sounds like.
Where is our Messiah?
He is everywhere.
Suddenly, everything in your day becomes significant.
Lord, forgive us for ignoring the beautiful, simple things of this life.
Forgive us for rejecting You when
You came in a way that was insignificant to us.
Lord, open our eyes that we may see You in the mangers of life all around us.
From Kamran Yaraei’s Book “Food For The Heart”.
www.Projectcallout.org
www.Holyspiritadventures.org
I had something fantastic happen to me at the store which reminded me of how significant little things are to Jesus. I stumbled upon a cardigan I really loved, but I experienced I wasn't suppose to purchase it yet. So I told the Lord please save this for meif it's ok for me to have(only 2 were left). 2 wks later I go shopping believing it was ok to see if the cardigan was still there. I'm at a different store and as I go by a rack of clothes, a shirts tag gets caught up on my cart, I go to put it back and there is a shirt right behind that one that would match perfectly with the cardigan, b4 hand I was wondering what I would wear with it. I would have never seen the shirt had it not have gotten caught. I'm so excited to get to the store that has the cardigan. Because I know it must still be there.
ReplyDeleteUpon entering the store, I realize it has been completely rearranged. I look down every isle. No cardigan. I said Lord I'm so sorry I'm so disappointed. It's ok if You didn't save it for me and I'll take back the shirt. I was leaving the store, I happend to look over my shoulder and there it was hiding and on the wrong rack. I said Jesus You did save it for me! A burst of His love came upon me. He does care so much about the little things. He even uses the natural carnal things to show us His love and to manifest His greatness.