Luke 2:1-7 says, "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."
I'm sure we all know the story of Jesus' birth, but over the next couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, I'm going to go into further detail with this amazing story, and remind you of some very important things to be thinking about during this Christmas season.
"'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke up from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus." -Matthew 1:23-25
Imagine being in Mary and Joseph's place. They probably weren't even that old when Mary gave birth to Jesus, but God is so good. He has a reason for everything He does, and He had a plan for Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph were so confused when they were told about the child that Mary would give birth to, but they trusted the Lord. Mary trusted God, and Joseph trusted God.
They trusted Him with something that seemed so crazy, yet so good.
The verses you read in Luke above are about Caesar Augustus, who was the first Roman emperor ruling at the time of Jesus' birth. Caesar wanted a list of everyone. Then, we read about how Mary and Joseph had to lay baby Jesus in a manger because there was no place for him in the inn.
I'm sure when Mary and Joseph, after so much traveling, finally found a place to stop and rest, they were exhausted and discouraged. There was no room for them in the inn, and they had no where else to go. They could have given up, but as I wrote before, they trusted in God to lead them where they needed to go. And so we all know that Jesus was born in a stable, laid in the manger that animals would eat out of.
To think that our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born in one of the filthiest places instead of a hospital or a really nice place, is weird. Sometimes we might think he should have been born somewhere nicer, but no. There was no room in the inn, and hospitals probably weren't even a thing yet. Jesus was born in a stable, and He is the one who died on the cross for our sins.
That is a great reminder not to judge someone by how they appear to be. Don't judge a book by its cover. You have to read it first before you can judge it. Jesus is so good, and people who might not of ever heard his story might think differently of him because of where he was born.
Today, take this with you: Trust in the Lord, and let Him lead your life like Mary and Joseph did. I know it might be hard sometimes because of how many bad things really do happen in this world, but God's got you. I promise. He knows what He's doing, and why He's doing it. Trust in Him.
There's so much more to Jesus' story, but in a couple days we will continue reading about his birth. Don't forget that there will be a new blog post every weekday for blogmas! You don't want to miss December's blogmas! ~Ella
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