Away in a Manger
"And she gave birth to her first born Son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger…"Luke 2:7
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head…” It’s a warm, tender hymn that’s a favorite from our childhood. But we run into trouble when we try to keep Jesus in the manger. We can handle a Holy Infant that we celebrate a few weeks out of the year. After all, a baby makes no demands. But when Baby Jesus leaves the manger and becomes the “grown up” Jesus who wants to rule and reign in our hearts, we have trouble with that.
We must never forget that the manger sits in the shadow of the cross. Yes, there’s a time to celebrate the Babe of Bethlehem, but we must let Jesus outgrow the manger and become the Savior on Mt. Calvary. So I ask you – Where is Jesus today? Is He “away in a manger,” or is He alive in your heart?