By: Edward Duke, III | December 3, 2018
Christmas time is coming! Hang the Greens. Put the ornaments on the tree. String the lights. Mail the Christmas cards. Buy the presents. Put out the cookies and milk. Wait! Did I forget something? Is that everything? I feel like I’m forgetting something. What could it be? I look around the room and notice a box under a table. I bend down and pull it out. It’s the manger scene. We forgot to put out the manger scene. I take out the pieces one by one: the shepherds, the angels, the animals, Joseph, Mary, the manger. I keep reaching down into the box. Where is Jesus? How can you have a manger scene without Jesus? Then I realized what I had truly had been missing. How can you have Christmas without Jesus? I stopped and prayed to God and asked him to forgive me for my carelessness. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, I had forgotten what it is all about. I started to take out all the paper wrappings to find Jesus. I had become like a kid opening presents on Christmas day. I had to find Jesus! Finally, there was something small, wrapped as if in swaddling clothes. I carefully unwrapped the tiny baby statue and held it in my hand. Tears came to my eyes as I realized what God had done. He came from the glories of a perfect place with no tears, pain, or sorrow. He did not come as a mighty prince born in a palace. He came as a normal, ordinary, poor, homeless, infant. Not laid in a bed made of gold but put in a feeding trough. Not born with the announcement of trumpets but announced only to some shepherds in a field. Here I was in a nice warm home with many presents and more than I really needed. I was so wrapped up with my life I forgot that he gave up His for me. I knelt down and laid the tiny statue in the manger. I thanked God, my heavenly Father, for loving me so much. I thanked Jesus, my Savior, for living a human life and dying for my sins. I thanked the Holy Spirit, my guide, for helping me to see what it is all about. So, Merry Christmas and remember Jesus is THE reason for the season.
About the Author
Edward Duke is an ordained minister living in Pilot Mountain, NC. He studied Music Education at Gardner-Webb University and graduated from Campbell University with a degree in Religion. Since the age of 15, he has directed choirs and led music ministries in multiple churches. He enjoys singing, preaching, and discipleship. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys. He is the published author of The Kid That Got Coal for Christmas.
Note: The views expressed by guest writers are their own and may not reflect the opinions of Bellator Christi Ministries or its affiliates.
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