Two Views of the Stable

A human view-

When I was young I always wondered how God the Father allowed Jesus to be born in a stable.  Why was there “no room at the inn”? How could the Father allow Jesus’ first bed be a manger? How could He let the young woman that He chose to give birth to His Son be left alone with only Joseph to help her through the birthing process?

As I became a teenager and learned more about the details of the story, I had more questions. I realized the terms used in describing the story softened the reality. The nativity stables we see today look warm and well lit. The real stable was probably a cave carved out of rock; damp and smelling of animals. I discovered a manger was actually a feed trough; swaddling clothes are actually strips of rags not something warm and soft.  

Why did God the Father let the most important moment in the history of time happen this way? He has the power to make it happen any way He wanted, but was this what He chose? I was very confused.

A Kingdom view-

As I have learned about so many Biblical stories, what we see from a human vantage point does not necessarily match the Kingdom vantage point. If we back the story up 9 months, an Angel brings Mary and then Joseph amazing news. When Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, Elizabeth declared what the Angel said; Mary’s child was to be the Messiah.

Even their trip to Bethlehem was God appointed. The prophets said the child would be born in Bethlehem. The census decree was divinely inspired to bring Mary to the proper place at the proper time.

Although Mary was told by and Angel and heard Elizabeth’s testimony, the long journey on a donkey in her condition and then the lack of accommodations must have shaken Mary’s faith.

Imagine the chaos if there was room at the inn. Many women jumping in to help this soon-to-be young mother. None of the peace that was found in the stable. What about the Shepherd’s visit? They would not have been let in to see the baby that the Angel told them about. In God’s timeline, the shepherds were the voice of confirmation. 

When you begin seeing this story from a Kingdom perspective the questions fade away. God’s ways are greater than our ways. The thing that keeps coming back to me is that nothing in this story was a surprise to the Father. His plan unfolded perfectly, just like it is unfolding today. He is Sovereign. He is amazing.