And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. – Luke 2:7

I’m reminded this morning that the conditions that my Savior were born into were way different than what I experienced last night. He had no bed, no climate control, no comforts of a home. He was born into this world the way he would live in it, suffering. All the way to the cross, for us.

Isaiah 53 says “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised…”

We plan our Christmas’s to be so perfect. We want all the decorations to match, everyone to be comfortable, and for our loved ones to get the gifts they desire. It’s fine to celebrate and enjoy those things! But we need to be reminded that the first Christmas was gritty, dirty, and uncomfortable. We can celebrate, but only because He was willing to suffer. From the manger to the cross, He did it for us.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8