Does it seem odd to you that the Creator of the universe chose to be born in the most humble setting imaginable?

Don’t picture the last nativity you saw. It was probably in a cave. It was shared space with animals complete with the smells that come with the same. The manger may have had hay, but no doubt it previously contained some form of feed. I wonder what they did with the manure on the ground, or should I say mud? It certainly wasn’t a sterile setting.

The mother was an unmarried virgin, probably about thirteen years old. She arrived in Bethlehem after traveling on a donkey for several days. The fiancé wasn’t the father but would be assuming that role. And I could go on but I think you get the point: the King was wrapped in very ordinary human flesh. Why? It was love.

What does love have to do with it?

God went way out of his way (read Matthew 1:18 – 2:23 and Luke 2:1 – 20) to offer love in a non-majestic way. He didn’t want to overwhelm humanity so that we would respond in awe of His greatness. He didn’t want to impress us so that we felt obligated. He didn’t choose to manipulate us in any way. His solution, our Savior, came simply so that only true seekers would even notice.

He doesn’t force His way into anyone’s life. He humbly offers His love in such a way that you must exercise faith to believe. The motivation behind this is to give opportunity for true love to develop. You don’t choose Him because you have to. You choose because you want to. That is true love.

There is a part of love that seeks out the other. There is a part of love that overlooks the external. There is a part of love that understands the difficult. There is a part of love that embraces the heart—this is the kind of love for which Jesus came. It cost Him dearly to love you this way but it is worth it all to Him when you love Him in return.

This is what He wants for Christmas: your love.