St.LUKE 2:7- “AND SHE BROUGHT FORTH HER FIRST BORN SON, AND WRAPPED HIM IN SWADDLING CLOTHES, AND LAID HIM IN A MANGER, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR THEM IN THE INN”

    The Almighty God who created the heaven and the earth and all that are there in came to this earth and was born as a Child called Jesus Christ on the day of Christmas. According to 1Tim 3:16 this child Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. It’s surprising that such a great God should be born as a little child. This reveals God’s great love for mankind. There are several reasons why God became man. We shall see a few of them

Now.

1. TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE WITHOUT SHELTER: when Mary the mother of Jesus was about to deliver the baby Jesus, they had to take shelter in a manger because there was no room for them in the Inn. Its heartbreaking to know that the creator of heaven and earth had to be born in a manger. Why did this happen? This happened because the God of Heaven and earth wanted to know the agony of people living without a roof. Do you say that you do not have a proper shelter? Do you long to have a roof of your own? Yes the Lord Jesus Christ who did not have a room in the inn will be moved with compassion for you and will surely provide you a shelter. Let us wipe His feet with our tears and He will remember the tears of His parents went through and will have mercy on us.

2. TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE WITHOUT CLOTHING: The child Jesus was wrapped in Swaddling clothes. The parents were not in a position to cover the child with warm clothing during that cold winter night. Yes this goes to prove that the little family he lived in poverty. The Bible says in II Corin 8:9 that through Jesus Christ the Almighty God was very rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. Cheer up my brother! Cheer up my sister! God knows what it is to be without proper clothing. Do you say that you do not have enough money to buy dresses for your children this Christmas? Jesus understands your agony. In order to clothe you and your children well, He had to be covered by swaddling clothes. He will certainly perform a miracle for you.

3. TO UNDERSTAND THE PANGS OF CHILD BIRTH: In that cold winter night, Mary the mother of Jesus had no doctors to look after her, no medicines, no comforts of a nursing home. You can imagine the agony and tears she must have gone through. But my Bible says in Luke 1:35 that the Holy Ghost came upon her and over shadowed her, Praise God He will do the same thing for you. Child birth has always been a question of life and death. But Jesus understands it very well because His mother had to go through the same problem that the expectant mother face today. My dear expectant mothers, the same Holy spirit which protected. Mary and Jesus will protect you, from all danger and give you a safe confinement.

4. TO UNDERSTAND THE AGONY OF SEPERATION: When Jesus was born, Herod wanted to kill the child Mat 2:16 An Angel of God protected the child from death. And Herod was exceeding wroth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem. We can imagine how the heart of God must have ached when he heard the tears of the wailing mothers. Yes He must have wept for the children and the mothers. Yes Jesus understands the hearts of the parents who have lost their children. Have you lost a dear child? Jesus will remember His days when mothers wept for their dead children. So many children had to die for His sake. He will be moved with compassion for you and comfort you. He will protect our children from all dangers when we cry unto Him.

5. TO GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE ON HIM: The most important of all reasons for God being manifested in the flesh was to give salvation to mankind. When Jesus the baby was brought to the temple for dedication Luke 2:30 says that an old Saint called Simeon took Jesus in his arms and said that his eyes have seen the Salvation which God had prepared for all people. Yes Jesus was born on Christmas mainly to give salvation to all people. Even today when we believe on Him and commit our lives to Him, we will be saved from all our sins and the baby will be born in our hearts to stay with us forever. May God make this Christmas a blessed and may the baby Jesus come and dwell in your hearts forever. All the blessings that we have discussed above will be ours only when we commit our lives to Jesus and cling on to Him. When we become His children, then God will have mercy on us, remembering the agony that His son went through and will deliver us at the right time.

Amen