Helpless

I had a mental image of Jesus lying prostrate in the manger and hanging vertically on the cross - helpless in both instances and His own body forming a cross that way. As I thought on that I realized that His whole life was a sacrifice, from birth to death. Almighty God became totally helpless, to help us to know Him.

He lay helpless in the manger,
He hung helpless on the cross,
Our times of greatest gain
His times of greatest loss.

His life a sacrifice
In His birth and in His death,
God's love for every man
Who ever drew a breath.

For God took human form
In Bethlehem's manger rude,
And took all human sin
Upon a cross of wood.

When God became a man
He laid His glory by;
The Word who had made worlds
Became a baby's cry.

Then He was lifted up,
Impaled His hands and feet,
A bloody sacrifice
Sin's thralldom to defeat.

Helpless now no more
His succor He extends
To all who would receive
This gift - to be His friends.

Helpless now are we
For we can but believe,
Our greatest triumph now
Is simply to receive

The life of Him who came
To bless the human race,
And drink in to the full
The wonders of His grace.

Identification

The wonder of it all is that God so identified with mankind that He took on human flesh, actually became as we are. Nowhere else in the annals of history or religion did God become a man save in Jesus Christ. How cheap is our festivity compared to this glorious truth, that He loved us enough to become like us, to lift us up from the pit we're in and make us like Himself so that He might have fellowship with us.

Oh love of God so great,
So grand, so full, so free,
Born a virgin peasant's babe,
Identified with me.

Like me in birth and life,
He took my place in death,
Took my sin and took me in,
Paid my awful debt.

One sad and lonely night
The love of God came down;
With but a manger for a bed,
He as a man was found.

The Word of God made flesh -
Oh, can it really be
That God would take on human form
And make Himself like me?

From Bethlehem's lowly barn
I see Golgotha's tree;
From stable rude to cruel cross
To die and set me free.

How can I thank Him now?
Such love all words transcends;
He identified Himself with me
That I might be His friend.

The Shepherd And The Fisherman

I was a young shepherd that night on the hillside
When angels announced the good news;
We ran to the stable and saw the young child there
And I think that he saw us, too.

For he smiled up at me from his bed in the manger
With a smile that I'll never forget.
It warmed my poor heart like the glory from heaven;
To this day, I remember it yet.

For I saw it again while I mended my nets
On the shore of blue Galilee;
With a voice that was winsome and the smile I remembered
He said "Matthew, come follow me."

Then later I asked if perchance he remembered
When I saw him that night as a child;
With an arm 'round my shoulder and a gleam in his eye
He looked back at me and just smiled.

The Inn ... A Manger

I was struck by the contrast between "the" inn and "a" manger in the Christmas story in the book of Luke: Jesus was laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn. In that lies the entire contrast between man and God, between our ways and His ways.

"The inn...," so proud, so pretentious,
So wanton, so worldly, so wise;
"A manger...," so homely and humble,
So simple in stature and size.

The inn...the place of man's efforts
And all that his strength can achieve;
A manger...so meek and so humble,
So weak that it has to believe.

The inn...so crowded with pleasure,
Pomposity, power and pride;
A manger...so empty and helpless,
No strength from it's own supplies.

The inn..the place of man's glory,
The show case for all he has done.
A manger...the place of man's weakness
Where alone is exalted the Son.

The inn...our reason and wisdom,
No place for the Heaven-sent One.
A manger...our poor hungry hearts
With room for Jesus, God's Son.

The Little King of Christmas

The little King of Christmas
Lies on a bed of hay,
With a robe of swaddling clothes
And vessels made of clay.

His palace is of wood,
The floor of earthen sod,
A carpet made of straw -
The dwelling place of God.

Poor shepherds are his court
And oxen on him wait;
For light he has a star,
A barn for an estate.

The wind blows through the slats,
He shivers in the cold;
Rest now, my little King,
You're safe here in the fold.

This is my King for aye,
With him my lot I cast -
The little King of Christmas,
Until my life be past.

A Tale of Two Trees

Two trees stood in the forest wood
Growing together side by side;
From one came the manger where Jesus was born,
From the other the cross where He died.

So close together yet so far apart,
And really they looked quite the same;
Yet on one would He be adored by the world,
On the other would men curse His name.

One brought Him life and one brought Him death,
One held His little, sweet head;
One held the nails through His hands and His feet
And was stained with the blood that He shed.

Lord Jesus, I would bring Thee life;
Let me be a manger tree,
And cradle Thee within my arms,
Beholding Thy nativity.

Little Pilgrim

Oh, little pilgrim, I can see you
Lying on the rough-cut hay.
How long a journey have you taken
To bring you where you are today?

For you came from the realms of glory,
From the courts of heaven far,
To this rude and lowly manger,
Lying here beneath a star.

I think you know how I am feeling,
For I am on a journey, too;
My heart has so long been a wand'rer,
But it finds rest here next to you.

Your look tells me that I can stay here,
And here is where I want to be.
Could it be, while I was seeking
You, you were seeking me?

So Approachable

Had he come as the King of kings, in great pomp and majesty, he would be out of our reach; but He came as a little baby, wrapped in humility and swaddling clothes, so approachable.

Had he come as the Lord of lords, in great power and glory, he would not invite inquiry; but he came in weakness and he died in weakness, so approachable.

Had he come as judge, we would be terror-stricken at the thought of entering his presence; but he has come as Saviour, inviting us to fellowship with him, so approachable.

Had he come as God as God, we would run from him; but he came as one of us ("And the word became flesh and dwelt among us") so we can run to him, so approachable.

How can we stay away?

Christmas Journey

Wise men coming from afar,
Guided by a blazing star,
Bring myrrh and gold and frankincense,
Gifts they brought at great expense,
To worship in the King's presence.

But shepherds in a nearby field
Had the same to them revealed;
Nothing in their hands they bring,
They could not give to Him a thing,
Poor as they are, they see the King.

And we may come from where we are -
It doesn't have to be so far.
And if our gift be small or grand,
He wants what's in our heart,
Not what's in our hand.

The Baby Born in a Barn

Were He born in palace instead of a barn, then only the privileged would have access to Him, only the monied and fortunate would be able to come into His presence. But the angels announced the good news to some shepherds working the night shift, out in the fields. Not to the priests, not to the aristocracy - but to poor shepherds the angels came.

That means there's room there for the lowest of the low and the poorest of the poor. That means that everyone can come to stand before the baby born in a barn - from the highest to the lowest, from the richest to the poorest, from the highly educated to the ignorant and out-of-the-way.

There's room there for you and me, and whosover will may come. Let's come before Him in praise and worship, now and forever. Our God has made the way.