Kneeling at the Manger (with Job) | Job 38-42

Welcome to Real Life. It’s Christmastime. So, I took Job with me to the manger.

Where are you, God?
Why are you punishing me when I did nothing wrong?
Why won't you answer me?

I just finished reading the book of Job. Through most of it, he questions God. With good reason, for God allowed Job to lose everything—children, wealth, health, respect.

Finally, in chapter thirty-eight, God speaks. He doesn't directly answer Job's queries. Instead, he throws down a few questions of his own.

• Where were you when I laid earth’s foundation?
• Who kept the sea in its boundaries and said, “This far and no farther will you come”?
• Have you ever commanded morning to appear and dawn to rise in the east?
• Have you visited the storehouses of snow?
• Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?
• Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

“I am nothing. I cover my mouth with my hand. I repent in dust and ashes,” Job replies.

My own response mirrored Job's. “I stand in awe. I am almost nothing—a speck of dust in a vast universe,” I had written in my journal before I read Job's words.

Duly humbled in the presence of Omnipotence, I pondered the Christmas story. The One with wisdom and power beyond comprehension chose to visit a world he designed and spoke into existence. He arrived in the meekest of ways, the same as you and I, an infant to inexperienced parents. His first crib was an animal trough. The All Powerful Son arrived powerless—unable to turn over, feed himself, or say a word.

Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.[1]

Is it any wonder angels filled the skies with praise? We tend to flaunt the full extent of our influence and capabilities. In contrast, God the Son chose to drastically limit himself. To what end? “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 NIV). He came for a speck of dust. He came for us—the lost, the rebellious, the ones far from God—the ones he dearly loves. He came to bring us home!

Dearest Lord Jesus,
This Christmas,
As we journey to Bethlehem and kneel beside the manger
May we never lose the wonder of your birth.
Oh come to my heart, Lord Jesus. 
There is room in my heart for thee! [2]
Amen.








Take it further . . .

• Read the last chapters of Job.
• Visit the manger. Read the Christmas Story. Watch our Savior's birth portrayed in The Nativity Story.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—
the Son also became flesh and blood.
For only as a human being could he die,
and only by dying could he break the power of the devil,
who had the power of death.
Only in this way could he set free all who have lived
their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT

Image of Infant Jesus provided by www.LumoProject.com.
[1] Christmas Carol “Away in a Manger,” 1884, author unknown
[2] "There Is Room in My Heart for Thee" by Emily E. Elliott