YOU have already read about the wonderful little Babe that lay in a manger, in a stable at Bethlehem. I suppose the great people in the inn, and the multitudes coming and going, thought nothing of all this. Perhaps some servants who came to the stable to look after the animals, saw the little Babe, but just thought it was some poor people who could not have a place in the inn, and were not worth noticing. Is it not wonderful that God’s blessed Son, who created the world, and the sun and moon and stars, should be born into this world as a King, and yet nobody know or care?
Ah! but if the inhabitants of the earth did not know or care, the inhabitants of heaven knew, and they cared, too. To the angels that was a wonderful night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The angels could look upon the face of that wondrous Babe and see their Creator. “God was manifest in the flesh,” and there they could see Him. They saw, and rejoiced. Wondrous sight! If you will read in the second chapter of Luke, you will see there were some shepherds that night in the country about Bethlehem, watching over their flocks. No doubt these shepherds were men who feared God, and God would have them know the good news of the birth of the young King. And so He sent the message by one of these worshipping angels. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Thus, the angel delivered his message to the shepherds—the good news that a Saviour was born—and gave them a sign, so that they could go and see for themselves. And then we get not only one angel, but a multitude, and they are all full of praise. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Dear children, these angels were full of praise when they looked on the face of that little Babe, and saw in Him their Creator. But that Babe is more to you than Creator. He is a Saviour. Not only was He born, but He has died for your sins. Should not you, then, praise God for such a Saviour? And can you not tell others that Jesus has been born a Saviour, and that He has died to save?
H. R.
ML 04/08/1900