Born in a Manger

by Fred Vilbig

In my last blog, I talked about the miracle of the Incarnation – how Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, emptied Himself of His Divinity and became man so that we could be with Him in Heaven. As I mentioned, the Incarnation is really incomprehensible if you think about the perfection and infinity of God and the insignificance of you and me in comparison.

Since it’s Christmastime, I want to think a little about how God chose to become man. He could have been born into a fabulously rich and powerful family. He could have established a visible earthly empire (like many in Judea were hoping for) that no mere human force could have withstood. He could have done a lot of things, but He didn’t.

Instead, He was born of a Virgin into a poor family, amidst some misunderstandings and perhaps some scandal. Although the Wise Men came to pay Him homage, the Holy Family soon had to flee for their lives and live in hiding as exiles for a while. And when they did return to their homeland, they went to a remote part of their country and lived in relative obscurity. What a way for God to become man!

But it was fitting. God is love, and all He wants from us is our love in return. Love cannot be forced. A forced love is a lie, a counterfeit. True love must be voluntary. If Jesus had become a powerful earthly ruler, people would have felt compelled to honor and obey Him, but probably not love Him. Some people certainly would have tried to manipulate things to become rich and famous themselves. The relationship would have been based on a lot of things, but not love.

No, God chose to become man the way He did because of love. He was born weak and helpless into a poor family so that we could truly love Him freely. From all appearances, there is nothing for us to gain by loving God, and that is how God wants us to love Him – freely and not because of anything that we can get from Him here and now. He wants us to love Him for Who He is – the most beautiful, attractive, and lovable Person that exists.

So Jesus was born in a manger out of love for us and so that we could freely love Him, because God is love … pure, unadulterated love. At Christmas, I think it is good to take a little time to think about that.

Merry Christmas!