Excerpt from New Book

Meet Me at the Manger and I'll Lead You to the Cross

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”.

We stood in a semi-circle when we arrived at the opening. Under our feet was a cold dirt floor and we were surrounded by stone walls. The air was cool and damp. The tour guide explained that stables in Jesus’ day were not made out of wood (as they are portrayed in most of our nativity scenes), but that they were carved out of stone. I envisioned this “stable” filled with dirty animals and weary travelers. He then pointed to a gold plate on the floor that marked the (exact) spot where Jesus was born. My imagination carried me back to that first Christmas Eve. I could almost hear the hustle and bustle of people as they crowded into the City of David to be counted in the census. I could imagine the inn keeper looking at Joseph’s desperate face and Mary’s obvious pain. I could almost see Mary double over with the next of a wave of contractions as Joseph rushed to spread blankets on the hard floor.

And then, I stared at that gold plate. And I wondered at the majesty and love of God that would allow His Son to be born into this world. I wondered at the glory of God that would allow His Son to come to us since we were unable to go to Him. I worshipped God in that cave because I knew that had the Word not become flesh and dwelt among us, we could never have the opportunity to even begin to experience His glory. I thanked God for being full of grace and truth.