Daily Devotions
Not a Hallmark Card
Title: Not a Hallmark Card
Reading for March 27: 1 Samuel 17-18
Weekly reading for March 25-31: Luke 1-4
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
The ancient prophet predicted he would be despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). From birth Jesus found that there was "no place" for him in this world, not in the inn or anywhere else.
The manger scenes we see during Christmas time have a pleasant look and feel to them. Everything has a bright and magical glow. Don’t be deceived. There was nothing aesthetically beautiful about this scene. This was an inglorious beginning to a life: dark, smelly, dirty... It was hardly the pristine picture that’s painted on the greeting cards for us.
Jesus' life ended the same way. Jesus’ birth and death were both ugly. It could not be otherwise. God chose the way his Son was born and the way he died for a reason (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). He was seeking to draw us and to change us through the weak and foolish things of this world with the intent that we would seek a different kind of wisdom. The wisdom of man creates Christmas cards with beautiful images meant to appeal to our carnal nature. The wisdom of God presents the manger and the cross in all of its ugliness and draws those who are humble and lowly by it.
Father God, thank you for choosing the manger and the cross for your Son. Thank you for the way those two events draw us to you and for the way they have changed our lives.
