Nativity Series Part 3 of 6
The nativity blog series is an invitation to “enter into” the manger scene and ponder where you are in relation to Jesus.
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Did anyone else play with the nativity set as a kid? I most definitely did not make my Barbies and My Little Pony dolls a part of the scene… Just kidding, that’s exactly what I did. Ask my parents and they’d tell you that we had more of our own characters involved than the actual nativity figures. Oh, the beauty of a child’s imagination. In my eyes, the animals weren’t “pretty” enough, so I brought in the reinforcements: rainbow ponies with glitter hair and Barbie, who has never had a bad day in her life. If you did not share the same childhood I did, just think about the epic playtime story that the nativity set offers:
It is a dark, cold night in Bethlehem, making all travelers flee to the nearest inn to keep warm. EXCEPT… There’s a woman who is going to have a baby, and there is no room for her and her husband. The baby is coming fast, but luckily there is a stable nearby for them to hide out in and avoid the cold. Then, there are shepherds nearby, who are playing with some sheep, UNTIL a bright light BLINDS them. It is an angel who speaks much like a superhero. (And the angel can fly… I mean, come on now — it makes the kid’s job easier to play with it.) Alas, these shepherds embark to visit this mysterious wonder child. THEN three kings journey long and far on camelback to give presents after following a shining star. (And then Barbie babysits the newborn baby to give Mary and Joseph a night off.)
It’s like a biblical soap opera combined with an action movie. As for the animal figurines, maybe it’s just me, but they were always just sort of… there. They didn’t really do anything. Unless you made them talk during storytime, they didn’t add that same level of excitement as the other characters.
It’s weird. Somehow the dirty animals always seem to make an appearance in the nativity set and not the sparkly, rainbow ponies who make the world brighter with the power of friendship. Go figure, right? These animals deserve a little love too, though. In most sets, there’s almost always an ox and a donkey. Okay, donkey, we get that one — it carried Mary to Bethlehem, which is important. But, an ox? You’re probably thinking, “Why is that?”
We should be able to look at the scene and relate to any of the characters. Surprisingly, out of all of them, it’s often easiest to relate the most to these two key animals. So now you must be thinking, “How so?” Well, for starters, these two animals are incredibly stubborn. If you tell an ox or a donkey to do something they don’t want to do, they will remain right where they are. The more I prayed about this, the more I realized that I can be so stubborn when it comes to God.
How many times has God desired you to do something that you didn’t want to do? God has a plan for us, but most of the time we have a different or “easier” plan for ourselves. We would rather plant our feet in the ground of comfortability than go forward on the path God desires. Sometimes, we’re stubborn because we don’t want to accept God’s guidance. We stick to the same habits and sin, even when God provides solutions.
These animals are also pretty… simpleminded. We, too, are often a little lost in our judgments and in our decisions. Most decisions we make are usually based on what will be good for us, not for God. Think about it like us running into the same brick wall repeatedly, when God suggests going around it. Ouch. Sometimes without even realizing it, we do our own thing because we believe our judgment is better than God’s judgment. It makes us reluctant to what God is trying to say to us all of the time.
I heard someone once say that oxen and donkeys are actually pretty trainable. No matter how much they refuse to move or listen, they take direction pretty well if there is time put into them being trained. If we choose to listen to what the Lord is saying to us, we can transform our own ways into ways of living that glorify God. If the animals become trainable, they are more helpful and fulfill their purpose. If we let God take the reins instead of ourselves, we will fulfill our purpose of loving God and loving others and will help others become “trainable” too.
God knows we are hesitant to listen to Him, but it doesn’t stop Him from loving us and consistently giving us opportunities to love Him back. Usually, when we’re stubborn about doing something on earth, we get our way because people don’t have the energy or patience to change our minds. God is timeless, however. He would rather have us learn the lesson in a state of humility and give Him our whole heart than have us change temporarily and revert back to giving Him only some of our heart. So He waits.
Sounds pretty great.
You don’t need to be a saint with a direct phone line to God to receive His mercy. The story of God’s love and mercy, which stretched from Adam and Eve to Jesus and beyond, is neverending. He won’t stop being good to us when we don’t understand the “why” behind doing certain things and the blessings that come from it. Just as a father doesn’t give up on a child learning to walk, neither does God. If you relate to these animals in the nativity story, take a second to think about how much more worthy you are in God’s eyes. We are meant to be in relationship with Him. We don’t just get to be near Him like the animals; we can actually commune with Him and be in communion with Him.
The questions I have to ask myself are, “Am I going to ask for help and let God lead me? Or am I going to plant my feet like an untrained ox and donkey? Am I going to let my personal stubbornness win over God’s love?”
The season of Advent reminds us how God humbled Himself enough to be in our presence. His hand is reaching out to you. Will you humble yourself enough to take it?
