Away in a Manger

"Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay."

My youngest daughter loves this song and if we play a Christmas CD she immediately asks if there is also "Away in a Manger" on it.

The text of the first stanza brings peace; however, when you start to think about it and read the story from Luke's Gospel, you come to the conclusion that the Lord Jesus did not start out sleeping in a real bed or even have a place in a real house. Quite unexpectedly the story turns abruptly, and its touch is then not so accommodating. This is serious, because many people have no real home or a bed, like homeless people. Let’s ask, does this story teach us that?

No! The meaning of this story - and its verse in song - is much more profound: God became a human being for us. Not a king who lives in a large and magnificent palace, but a king who understands us and knows what it means to be human. We don’t need to present Him with anything, but we may come as we are and trust Him.

And Jesus can give us much when we trust him. We have the following promises of Jesus that one can read in the Bible:

1. Never be thirsty - Everyone who drinks this water shall never thirst again.
   (John 4:13)
2. No more hunger - I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall never hunger.
   (John 6:35)
3. Never die - I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even if they die.
   (John 11:25)
4. No more looking for a place to live - In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
   (John 14:2)

When we read those four promises, these invite us to a new life with Jesus. With Jesus we can only win. Even if we encounter many offers of "Ways" to heaven, only one gives us the promise previously mentioned, because Jesus is the only One who is risen from the dead. All other religious founders are dead, for instance Buddha or Confucius, to name two. Therefore, only Jesus can say only this: " I am the way and the truth and the life: no one comes unto the Father except through Me." —John 14:6b

This is one of the messages of Advent, that we trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I’d like to close with a few lines from another verse from the Christmas carol "Away in a Manger"

"Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
close by me forever
And love me, I pray."

And I propose as an answer to the question, “Could I want more?” —“Not a thing more!”

Return