My Year-Round Manger Display

I just recently bought a manger set to display in my living room 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. It has nine pieces, and every piece symbolizes something very important to me. It reminds me of the difference between the humanness that God requires of us and the human robots who lives by the thing that has power over thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behaviors through the mark of the beast.

Baby Jesus: Born in the form of a human and full of the Holy Spirit as God. God wants our humanness through the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Human robots are not in His Book of Life. “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.” Luke 2:10-11

Joseph: Joseph was a human being who was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Mary was pregnant, but not with his child. He was thinking about putting off the marriage. Instead, he listened to the Angel, and he played a role in the birth of Jesus Christ. “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20

Mary: Mary was carrying a child of the Holy Spirit and she had all the human feelings of being pregnant with a child that wasn’t of her husband-to-be. Imagine how she felt during the time Joseph was considering calling off the marriage. She faced the possibility of being ostracized, or worse, because inside her was Jesus Christ. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23

Three Wise Men: Being human means making a lot of mistakes, but it is our willingness to seek Jesus Christ that makes all the difference. The wise men told a King that they had come to worship Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews. That ignited the slaughter of babies. Whatever mistakes that I make when seeking Jesus, it’s still the right star to follow. “Saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2

The Shepard: It is in my humanness with the Spirit of Jesus Christ that there is any possibility at all of shepherding others. A human robot, one who receives the mark of the beast, cannot be that shepherd.

Ox: In all of the humanness of Jesus Christ, He sacrificed His life during a horribly painful crucifixion. All because He wanted to bring the world to God.

Donkey: The savior of the world rode humbly on a donkey and not on a majestic stallion of a king.

The Inn: Those who choose Jesus Christ over the system based on the mark of the beast will have to learn to live in the humblest of circumstances. “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7