Christmas is always best viewed through the eyes of a child. Each December when I set up our nativity scene I smile to remember a Christmas when our oldest daughter Emily was very young. I had placed our nativity scene in its rightful place, with the sheep and shepherds outside looking in. Sometime later, however, I passed the nativity scene and discovered the sheep were all inside the stable. I simply took them out and put them in their place. Later in the day, they were back in again. Now I was puzzled. Neither my wife nor I had touched them, so how did they get there?
We soon discovered that Emily had found something to stand on to reach the table and was moving the sheep. Her explanation? “Sheep belong in a barn.” She was right – livestock belongs in a stable; a manger is no place to lay a baby. Sheep are at home around a manger, but the Christ child deserved better. And yet, God’s love and humility are never more obvious than in the tiny, dependent infant Jesus, lying in a manger.
We are his sheep – He is our Good Shepherd. Stay close to his manger this Christmas!