“Dr. Dixie, I’ve heard you talk about taking Jesus out of the manger.
I’m confused. How can we celebrate His birth without the manger? I really love the manger scene.”
I too love the Nativity. And, because there are so many holiday distractions, we really do need the annual reminder that Jesus came to earth, placed in a humble manger at birth; fully human and completely helpless.
Luke 2:52 explains that Jesus learned and grew just as every human being must. He increased in wisdom, understanding and physical stature. Hebrews 5:8-9 shows us although He was a Son, He learned active obedience through what He suffered as a human being.
Because His completed human experience made Him perfectly equipped, He became the Source of eternal salvation to all those who listen to Him and obey.
Due to the influence of a culture that often insists “easier is better”, the Church, the Bride of the grownup Jesus, seems more comfortable celebrating a sweet Baby in a manger than walking through everyday life with her husband, the risen Son of God.
It’s understandable. The baby is manageable and sweet; stirring warm, loving feelings. Baby Jesus can’t talk so He’s not yet making statements like “take up your cross and follow Me” to cause us to think deeply and differently about comfort. There’s no need to change personal thoughts and habits for a helpless Baby we see once a year.
One of Abraham Lincoln’s most important presidential decisions was to build reconciliation between North and South after the Civil War ended. Lincoln’s many other accomplishments won historical respect as one of our greatest presidents.
But, what if the Lincoln Memorial — instead of Lincoln’s authoritative presence on a throne-like chair — was a shabby log cabin with a baby sleeping in a rough, handmade cradle? No.
While we acknowledge his impoverished beginnings and honor his difficult rise to the highest office, Honest Abe’s birthday is celebrated by recognizing his proficiency as an adult. His log cabin birthplace and his cradle are empty.
Annually celebrating Jesus’ birth in a humble stable is a wonderful reminder He identified completely with us. However, daily, yearround acknowledgment of the power and authority of the mature, adult, risen Jesus is necessary to have welldeveloped, effective “shoe-leather” faith.
We cannot grasp why He willingly went to the cross for humankind if we focus on His sweet baby days, and never grow up in understanding the kind of mature, spiritual man He became.
Reading Scripture thoughtfully, recognizing Jesus’ genuine humanity, will help us identify with the emotional climate that surrounded Jesus’ earthly, adult life. As an adult, Jesus lived and modeled what He taught. He reached out to people, interacting with social outcasts and wealthy leaders alike.
He forgave all sin, including the offenses committed against Himself. Yet, He was often rejected, and lived daily with harassment from established religion.
Even though we certainly honor Jesus’s sacrificial death, the Christian cross is consistently pictured empty — a symbol of sacrificial death, but a recognition He no longer hangs there.
The tomb is also empty. We honor His death, but believers don’t celebrate a tomb that holds His body inside.
Perhaps the manger should be empty as well. Jesus didn’t remain a helpless baby, any more than He remained dead on the cross or in the tomb. In 2021, let’s focus our attention on our resurrected friend, husband, savior and Lord.
As we step into 2021, thank you for partnering with me in the battle to restore and strengthen families by focusing on the limitless love-power and mercy of God.
Send questions or comments to drdixie@drdixie.org.