Even in our ever-increasingly secular world, the connection between Christ and Christmas is acknowledged, if not entirely accepted by a vast majority of people. The virgin birth, a bright star, gold, frankincense, and myrrh can, thankfully, still be heard intermingled among the carols of Santa Claus, animated snow men and silver bells. Perhaps one of the most iconic images of the season is a tiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. The nativity scene is a moving juxtaposition of humility and majesty. It was a birth in surroundings inconceivable to women today. No sterile white bed sheets, no medical staff assistance, definitely no epidural. Just two scared and awestruck new parents, a baby in a feeding trough and a barn full of animals.
Yet, this wasn’t just any birth and this baby just wasn’t any baby. This was God himself; the creator of the universe, and where did he choose to come into the world? In a stable. What sounds did he, the maker of booming thunder and crashing waves, first chose to hear among the gentle words of his mother and father? He chose the rustling of straw, the hooves of cattle and sheep as they trod on the hardened soil, the murmur of cattle and sheep, oxen and mules. The Lamb of God entered this world surrounded by animals.
Not only that but Jesus’ first birth announcement wasn’t sent to the town square or delivered in the presence of kings and rulers but it was received out in a remote field by simple shepherds watching over their sheep. As the shepherds trembled “with great fear” (Luke 2:9), the sheep stood silent, their fleece glowing in “the glory of the Lord as it shone all around them”, quietly at peace knowing the great Shepherd of all mankind had just humbly made his appearance on this earth.
Enter into an artist’s studio and you won’t find a room of empty white walls but you’ll find yourself surrounded by canvases created by the artist himself. God, from the very beginning, found joy in the presence of His creation. “And God made the beasts of the earth...and the livestock...and everything that creeps on the ground.....And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) Jesus wasn’t born simply into a stable but into the Artist’s studio. As you celebrate this Christmas season, take time to ponder on the humility of God’s entrance into this world. Look around your home at the animals you choose to share your life with and ask yourself, why is it that we live in pristine homes filled with every human luxury, yet so many of us feel more joy by having animals live among us? Look out the window and take in his creation and let it speak to you. It is the very language of God.
“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:7-10)
