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Born in a manger doesn’t sound like a befitting story about a king.

In 1865, an Episcopal priest named Phillips Brooks visited the site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. He was so moved by his experience that he penned the words to our beloved Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

When we think of rulers and kingdoms, we imagine stately mansions, crown jewels, bodyguards, and lots of fanfare.

When Isaiah’s contemporaries heard the words “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,” I imagine they pictured the same. They looked for the spectacular. So did all the religious leaders up to the birth of Christ.

But the Savior of the world, the Messiah, came with no fanfare and no parade. No crowd to cheer Him on. Not even a clean, sterile place to lay His head.

The King of all kings came in the glory of humility. Jesus Christ, the Lord of all Lords, left His throne in heaven and came to us as a baby, born in an obscure village stable with no one to welcome Him except a band of weary shepherds, not royalty or nobility.

Jesus laid aside His deity for humanity and His power for humility. Born of a virgin and raised by two ordinary, God-fearing people, He lived a life without sin and yet experienced all the hurts and temptations He knew you and I would go through today. He came for the nobodies so we could become somebodies. His entrance into this world did not make the headlines, but it spread throughout the earth as lives were changed.

Jesus’ birth was humble, but His return will be glorious. Are you ready?

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)