A Child of the Poor

"Bring all the thirsty, all who seek peace; bring those with nothing to offer; strengthen the feeble, say to the frightened heart, "Fear not: here is your God.""
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A child of the poor.

How often do we pass by the stranger, the hungry, the outcast? How often do we dismiss them? How often do we ignore them? Ultimately we end up ignoring Christ.

The child born into the manger was born into horrible circumstances, but the hold was not miserable because he had two parents who loved him. Both parents loved the little child because not only was he their son but ultimately the Emmanuel that the prophets spoke of coming to save the world.

The Christ child or God chose to be born into such "mean estate where ox and ass are feeding" to show us the power and mightiness of his love. If we ignore the fact that the manger was a trough full of feed and fecal matter where the child slept and if we ignore the plight of children and their families in poverty, whether in the world or in the house nextdoor, we have no right to celebrate Christmas. If we can't see Christ among us we can't have love and thus can never experience true joy.

May we as we draw closer to celebrating the upcoming holidays remember the place our God chose to come, the wood of the cradle that would ultimately lead to the wood of the Cross; the Child born of the manger to ultimately die on a tree.

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