I grew up on a farm and to me, the worst place was the stable. This is where we fed the livestock, penned them up to keep them away from the other animals, and sheltered them from the weather. I was always afraid to be in a stable with the animals because they were much bigger than me. So, when it was my turn to clean the stable or feed the animals I was creative. I would put the food in their trough before they came to the barn, wait outside, and when they started to eat I would close the door and secure the latch. When it was my turn to shovel out the “unwanted” waste, I would make sure they were down in the pasture grazing. The Stable was not a place I enjoyed going to. I am sure it was also not a place any human would choose to have their baby, yet it is where God chose for Jesus to be born. There are great lessons in all that God allows in our lives, even some from a nasty stable.
Today, we will explore what we can learn about the birth of Christ from the place God chose for him to enter this world. First, it would have been a very unsanitary place to have a baby. As I mentioned earlier, animals do, what animals do in a stable! I can’t imagine bringing my boys into this world in such an unclean environment yet, this is where God chose for his son to be born. The King of all kings humbled himself to be born in the lowest of all places.
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Most people look at the nativity and think of a baby, but they fail to consider that Jesus was from the beginning. He was the part of the Godhead that created everything. The one who was before and forever chose to become a baby.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
Humility is a character trait that is a lost art in our society. Pride is the at the center of every human since the day that Adam and Eve committed the first sin. Humility is the ability to be without pride or arrogance, and it is a main character trait that should be seen in those who follow Jesus Christ. Jesus is the best example of someone who humbly followed God’s plan for His life. Now, God wants us to be like Jesus and humble ourselves. To show by our actions we think nothing of ourselves, but everything about Him.
I Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”
Humility is a strange thing, if you think you have it, you probably don’t. However, we are to seek it by giving God all the glory for everything we have and do in life. Romans 8:29 tells us, we are to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. He was clothed in humility all the way to the cross, but it started in the cradle. In a dirty stable made for livestock, used by a mother no one had room for. It was the last place in the world anyone would want to have a baby.
It was God’s holiness that demanded it, and Jesus’ love that supplied it. His love for us caused him to humble himself and become a man. All for us! All so we would have an opportunity to spend eternity with him.
Are you seeking to be humble? Are you thinking of others and God before you think of yourself?
Learn from the babe in the stable and live!
