Have you ever wondered why Jesus, the Son of God, had to be born in a manger? The question brushed my mind a couple of times. After all, Jesus is the Son of the God. His Father owns the cattle of a thousand hills and all the gold in the world. If God wanted, He could have just “waved a magic wand” and caused the appearance of a five-star hotel with a thousand servants to serve Mary and her child.
Jesus came at the height of human cruelty and suffering – which still exists today and is being perpetuated by unbelievers. God allowed Jesus to have a human experience. He didn’t exempt His son from it. In fact, Jesus had the cruelest taste of the human experience – rejection, betrayal, doubt, and finally, a painful death at the hands of His enemy. In this experience, He paid the cost of human sin that we may live free. Jesus was rejected so that we might be accepted.
Certainly, if the people at the time wanted, they could have “made room” for Mary instead of saying, “there is no room, go into the manger.” But that is the nature of sinful man, as it is written, “the heart of man is desperately wicked.” Today, we see the same evil being played out in front of our very eyes. Some own skyscrapers while others are left to survive with a blanket on the street corner. The rich drive by the tents of the homeless in their luxury vehicle and couldn’t care less about those in need. Further, people engage in all kinds of deception and acts of corruption in the name of acquiring wealth.
Jesus experienced all this. He paid the price to cancel out sin and purify human hearts. And He left us with a message that is hard for man to swallow: give to all who ask; do good to those who do bad to you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who despitefully use you. On the day of judgement, Jesus will say to those on His right hand: I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, homeless and you took me in.”
Jesus already paid the greatest bill that any human will ever be faced with: the cost of salvation. And He’s offering you the greatest gift free of cost. Will you accept it?
