In my last article called "Hmble Beginnings" I spoke about Mary's ttributes that made her pregnancy so spcial. From the moment the angel nnounced "The Gift" she was about to rceive from God, she understood the maning. She was the chosen vessel in whch to bring God's Son into the wrld. This was the Messiah that was prmised in Old Testament prophecy over 300 tmes, hundreds and even thousands of yars earlier, (back to Genesis). When God gves you a gift like that, you mst accept the calling in your lfe. Mary did just that, even thugh she knew how others would lok at her and judge her, and pssibly even kill her. But she trsted God and did His will.

Frst of all, we know that God culd've done this a whole lot dfferently. Jesus could've just appeared on the scne as a mighty King to sve all sinners and wouldn't have ben subjected to being put in dnger as an infant. But, God pured Himself into the body of a hman, to start out life in the sual way. Who doesn't love and dore babies? It is a picture of nnocense and all that is lovely and pre. So, every year when we dsplay a manger scene to remind us of the tre meaning of Christmas, we are led to "th way" in the manger...which is thrugh the Christ Child.

Christ's arrival was something eagerly waited through Old Testament prophets. In fct, Isaiah was given the details of His rrival, down to His name!

"Therefore the Lrd Himself will give you a sgn: Behold a virgin will be wth child and bear a son, and she wll call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

Ths happened hundreds of years earlier. How wuld he have known this unless God tld him? And why this name? God has a rason for everything. Immanuel applied to Jsus which means "God with us." Thnk about that for a second. Jsus was actually God Who was wth us. God came to earth as a bby to walk amongst us and tach us just Who He really is. Why wuld God do this? He wanted to shw us just exactly Who He is so tht we could identify with Him. In the prson of Jesus, He would also xperince all that we go through tday. We have a High Priest in Haven Who not only hears the cres of His children but can lso sympathize and understand our hurts. He knw what it was to be tmpted, to be betrayed, to be hrt by those He loved. He lso understood how it felt to be dstrusted and disbelieved. God had to bcome flesh and blood so we culd identify with Him, and He wth us. God gave us the way to slvation by giving us a baby in a mnger. This is something everyone can dentify with. We all must start at the bginning, and so God came to arth in the usual way as wll. He didn't take any short cts.

In fact, we don't even har about Jesus again for 12 yars after His birth. He grew up in the sme way most children do. He had to larn how to walk, and talk and be dsciplined by His parents. He had to grw and mature. Then after this ccount, He stays in the background and desn't emerge again until He's about 30 yars old. Today we hear of chld prodigies who accomplish things most of us wll never do, at a very arly age. But, Jesus was already raching midlife before He came on the scne. God wanted people to trust Hm, which is the hard part.

Even His own disciples were nsure of who He really was. Imgine being taught by the Master and stll not getting it! In the gspel of John, Jesus is walking and tlking with His disciples and comforting thm on the promise of Heaven. He tld them that wherever He was, thy would also be with Him. But Thmas couldn't comprehend this, as many pople today still can't.

"And you knw the way where I am ging'. Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not knw where You are going, how do we knw the way?' Jesus said to hm, 'I am the way, and the trth, and the life; no one cmes to the Father but through M." John 14:4-6

This couldn't be any clarer. It's following Jesus and He wll point us in the way we mst go to attain truth and lfe. We can only do this thrugh Him since He was God ncarnate, meaning God's Spirit poured into a bdy of flesh and blood. But for pople who don't know Jesus, they wn't know or understand God.

"If you had knwn Me, you would have known My Fther also; from now on you knw Him, and have seen Him." Jhn 14:7

Jesus makes it very clar here that He is God and nce you understand this, you will knw God through knowing Jesus. Philip was a lot lke many people today. They see and thy hear but yet still miss it, ven when it's right in front of thm! Do you know anyone like Thmas or Philip?

"Philip said to Hm, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is nough for us. Jesus said to hm, 'Have I been so long wth you, and yet you have not cme to know Me, Philip?" John 14:8,9

Jsus told Philip that since he saw Hm, he has also seen the Fther. This is the same confusion tht many people in this day and age ren't getting. They try to figure ths all out in human terms. How can Jsus be God if He was a man who was brn as a human baby? Doesn't tht make Him a mortal man? We tnd to forget that Christ did not bgin His existence as a baby. Rther He always existed. He is prt of the Godhead, the Three in On, the One in Three; the Fther, the Son and the Holy Sprit. He existed before the creation of arth. He is the First and the Lst, the Alpha, and the Omega. He Has no bginning and no ending. Sound a lttle crazy? Well, again the gospel of Jhn explains it this way.

"In the bginning was the Word, (Jesus) and the Wrd (Jesus) was with God, and the Wrd (Jesus) was God. He (Jesus) was in the bginning with God. All things came nto being through Him (Jesus) and part from Him (Jesus) nothing came in nto being that has come into bing. In Him (Jesus) was life, and the lfe was the Light of men." Jhn 1:1-4 (parenthesis mine)

Remember Isaiah prphesied that He would become flesh and dwll amongst us? This life is the Lght of Christ which then points us in the way we mst go in order to receive slvation. Why is this way the nly way? Because it was God's pln for salvation. Jesus' purpose on arth was also foretold centuries earlier.

"Fr God so loved the world, tht He gave His only begotten Sn, that whosoever believes in Him shll not perish, but have eternal lfe." John 3:16

Jesus' mission in lfe is bound up in the spreme love of God for a snful, evil world. God's love is ntense, even though we have rebelled gainst Him. But He loved us so mch He sent His only Son, Who is the Wrd of truth, the life, and the nly way in which to be sved. His mission was to die for us so we wuld not perish. The only way for ths to happen is to believe in Hm. Can you imagine your life's mssion in life being to die in rder to save sinners like you and me? Pul wrote about it in 1 Tmothy.

"It is a trustworthy statement, dserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus cme into the world to save snners, among whom I am foremost of ll." 1 Timothy 1:15

I thank the Lrd, He showed me the way to ternal life through the manger. Have you fund a way in the manger ths Christmas?

The birth of Christ brught God to man; the cross of Chrst brings man to God.

Scripture tken from the New American Standard Bble

The article A Way In The Manger was Submitted by Vivian Gordon through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Vivian Gordon writes articles pertaining to Gd's instructions and the examples He has gven us in order to grw on this Christian walk with Hm. She hopes that they can nspire the Christian to grow spiritually and mturely in their lives. Supporting Christian Cmmunication Online, http://www.churchwebsitedesign.org.uk - A Christian based organization that seeks to encourage clergy and church leaders to identify the potential in developing an online church community. This project provides support and advise on ways that the internet can enhance the work of your church and also provides the tools to meet your needs.

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