Read the Scripture again.  This is the New Century Version of the most familiar pieces of Scripture in the Bible.  What’s that?  “…and laid him in a feeding trough?”  Not quite the way you recall the story?  So, what happened to the soft, swaddling clothes and the quaint little manger?

You see, it’s easy for us to sanitize the reality of the situation, and remove some of the irony, but the fact is the Savior of Mankind, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was born, wrapped in rags, and set to rest in a nasty, icky trough that was used to feed pigs and cows.

Why would a mother allow this for her child?  Well, she had no choice, because there was no room for them anywhere else.  Perhaps a better question would be, “Why would our Father permit His Child to be treated in this manner?”  Well, in addition to prophecy being fulfilled, maybe God also knew that His Child had to experience humanity.  He needed to know what it was like to be homeless, helpless, and in poverty.  Later, He needed to understand hunger, the death of loved ones, persecution, and even death itself.  Jesus needed to experience mankind – as He came to die for mankind.

And that, my friends, is the real, unvarnished Christmas story.

Merry Christmas and God bless you all!