The Rough Wood





“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, ESV)



It is the rough wood that fills my thoughts as I think of the baby Jesus and prepare to celebrate the miracle of Christmas during this Advent season. In this season of preparation it is a good time to reflect on the glorious miracle that transpired over 2000 years ago.





The great debates that arise in this season seem to me to miss the point . Does it truly matter the date that our Lord Jesus the Christ was actually born or all the other factors that many seem to focus on or is the fact that He was born fill us with such great awe? Is it truly important that our Lord was born in a Barn separate from the home or if where He was born was a room adjoining the main living quarters which was specifically for the animals? To me these are distractions from the great miracle of Jesus the Christ. The fact that our Lord entered creation and was born in such a humble way is miraculous in and of itself, but the fact that He sacrificed Himself for us is wondrous. Think of that rough wood, not a soft bed, with itchy hay, not soft pillows. That rough wood meant and built not to hold a baby, but food for the livestock, edges warn from the animals eating from it. The reality of that love and how it points us to the rough wood of the cross which he took for us that we would not be in bondage to sin. What a glorious love to ponder!