There was no baby shower. The baby, mother and father had travelled from a far country and the only place that would open a door so they had a place to sleep was a bar tender. He sent them to his barn where the animals were. The mother went into labor and had no one to help but the father. They hadn't been married yet so this stigma was on them as well. Yet, it was meant to be. God had told them so. Having lived on a farm with animals in the barn, I know what that barn probably looked like, smelled like and what the manger was. This was not even a one star place. Well, later there was one star. :) There was manure (animal poop mixed with hay or straw) on the floor. Definitely not something you clean up with 409. The child was born and it was a baby boy. The father wasn't the father biologically but did claim the child as his own. Mother and child are doing well. All is calm and all is quiet. Christ the child was born.
They didn't have laundry facilities in that time. Nor did they have many extra clothes or even something for a baby. No snack machines out in the waiting room. No coffee for the long hours of labor. The party in the inn above probably drowned out the mothers cries of pain. Despite all of this, the parents knew life for them was going to be different. God had told them so. Not too many people would believe that! Perhaps one day they would accept the story and the baby. Perhaps. The father was a carpenter. He worked with his hands and took wood and made a cradle. At least that is my guess. They didn't have a Lowe's or Home Depot so what was handy was what was used. The child laid there with a piece of cloth for his clothing. In this unbelievable picture we have painted, there was the child who would bring salvation to all people.
As was tradition, the child wouldn't be named for quite some time. Sometimes up to 8 years. However, the mother and father already knew the baby's gender and name! God had told them so. How unorthodox a scenario! Did I mention that these young parents didn't have friends or family with them that night? Strange visitors would come to see the child. The announcement of the birth would be given by angels. But, no one was listening. They were busy with their lives, their situation, their problems and their world. Little did they know that the child would rock their lives, situations and problems because that was why he was born. Scandalous that all this should begin in such a ugly way. In a barn, in a manger, no clean room or even space, not witnessed by people who could testify as to the miracle. The list goes on and on. Our minds, however, paint this pretty picture and we don't feel so bad for this family.
We don't know how long the young family lived in this filthy barn with animals. We don't want to see the "filthy" so we ignore it. We don't know how long the labor was, how stressful it was and all those other medical issues that we rely so much on today in our lives. There is so much we don't know about the time involved in orchestrating this event. God had told them so. We live with the fantasy that all of this took place in one night. From the beginning of time to the end of time this child would be central in everyone's life in one way or another. It was for us that this baby was born. I've never had someone powerful seeking my babies to kill them. All because of the threat of the child? No, all because of the fulfillment of prophecy that day and many more. Three years to be exact. They couldn't kill the baby as a baby because the parents had to flee their home. God had told them so. It would be many years later that the mother of the child would see him hung on a cross and die for you and I.
When we look at how "tragic" or "unfortunate" or "complicated" our lives are next time perhaps we will look at our situation from that one Mary and Joseph were in. Maybe we can see the baby Jesus from the perspective of why he was here. Few of us would give our baby up as Mary and Joseph did much less see the people he came to save kill him. Our salvation came as a great price. The baby was in a manger in a barn under the inn that wouldn't take him in. We are the door that keeps Jesus out. Your choice is before you. God had told them so.
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