NATIVE CAROLS – చిన్న పశుల పాకలో పుట్టెన్ – BORN IN A TINY STABLE

The beautiful Telugu carol, “మన యేసు” – Our Jesus – ends its refrain with these words చిన్న పశుల పాకలో పుట్టెన్ – BORN IN A TINY STABLE – which not only tells us about the place where the Saviour was born, but also, gives us an indication of its “grandeur” and “pomp” talking from the gospel narrative, found in Luke 2.
– “7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn…10 Then the angel said to them [the shepherds] “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:7,10-12

The Saviour of the world, born in a tiny stable for animals? What a place to be born, for the Saviour of the whole world! God could have chosen, the best of best places for Jesus, the Son of God, to be born. Yet, God chose the humble and “humiliating” stable – the manger. What a place out of all the available choices? It speaks of God choosing to demonstrate to us, what kind of a Saviour is coming into the world. Not someone who would like to show off his power and his pomp. Not a royal figure who would slay his audience with his royalty and regality. Nay dear friend, God is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, the Suffering Saviour – Isaiah 53.

What else does the humble stable and the manger, speak to us?
– The tiny little stable, made for animals, with all the dirt, and all its smell of animal refuse, not only speaks of the humility of the Saviour, but much more significantly, the dirt and the unbearable stink of our sin, and the incurable sickness of the human hearts – Jeremiah 17:10
– The manger shouts to us that, Jesus was born in a borrowed place, and interestingly, was buried in a borrowed tomb.
What life is this, that the God of all creation chooses to be born, and to be buried in a borrowed place? If that was the choice of our Redeemer, and our Master, *what should be our choice dear friends? Where is our heart leaning towards? Where our treasure is, there our heart would also be – what is precious and priceless in our thinking, is what we would want with all our hearts. Isn’t this what, the Good old Book says? – Matthew 6:21

The following anonymous quotes, places the Saviour and the tiny stable, in a proper perspective, for us to grasp the heart of God, and to walk in His footsteps.
– “Jesus was born in a humble manger, teaching us that true greatness lies in humility and simplicity.”
– “The manger, once a humble bed, now stands as a symbol of divine humility, teaching us to embrace simplicity and find greatness in serving others.”
– “The birth of Jesus reminds us that miracles dwell in the humblest of places, beckoning us to find extraordinary beauty in simplicity.”

What about us, dear brothers and sisters? What should we be choosing for our lives? What kind of life are we desiring? What kind of lifestyle? What kind of attitude are we wanting to be clothed in? Should we not follow in the footsteps of our Saviour? Even so the LORD help us.