The Glory of God

The glory of God appeared to the shepherds in the field. No argument there; the Bible says so. But the glory of the Lord also appeared in the manger. What? A baby lay there, probably with soiled swaddling clothes, crying, fretting, and doing those things that babies do. Wait, wouldn't we rather view Jesus as the perfect baby with none of the smells and noises usually associated with infants, maybe paint Him with a little halo over his lovely little head? Well, yes, that has been done, but probably the Son of God, little baby Jesus, did the very things we all did as babies. How could the glory of God produce a stink? Of course, if that is all I can think of in the birth of Christ, then it is easy to see why God chose Joseph instead of me.

The birth of Christ meant salvation; His names even said it. Immanuel, Jesus, names of salvation for the people living in darkness. The shepherds flocking in from the fields didn't come to see just any baby, they came to see Messiah, the long awaited savior. As a young child learning to walk, Jesus probably bumped a little knee or two, but the visitors from the east didn't come to worship what could be found on just any child. They arrived to present gifts to the newborn Son of God, the future king.

A person can always focus on the mundane, if that is all his/her small mind can see. We see the glory of God in the baby Jesus. The mundane, earthly stuff just showed that Jesus was human. The glory of God shining around the shepherds, the miracles of Christ, and our very salvation show that this little baby was indeed something worth coming to see and worship.

Glory to God Most High, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men!

Bucky