HE SMELLS OF THE STABLE

A stable? What a place to give birth to God’s promised King! Farmyard smells and sounds were Jesus’ first human experience. Like other babies, He probably cried at the sounds of the animals and the strangers surrounding His temporary bed.

If so, they would have been the first of many tears. Jesus would come to know loss and sadness; hear the doubts His family had about Him; face rejection and hatred from many; and see the pain His mother experienced as He was tortured and killed.

All these hardships—and so much more—awaited the baby trying to sleep that first night. From His very first breath, Jesus was “God with us” (MATTHEW 1:23). He knew exactly what it meant to be human.

In order to bring salvation to us, Jesus became fully human. And because He became just like us, Jesus understands us completely: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (HEBREWS 4:15). We can never say that no one gets what we’re going through.

Jesus does. And He became like us so that through His life, death and resurrection, we can become like Him: perfect children of God: “children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (JOHN 1:13).

Let’s thank Him for the life He lived for us so that we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (HEBREWS 4:16).

Want more . . . ?

Check out What is the reality of Christmas?

online at ourdailybread.org/lookingdeeper