Manger

Before leaving the Christmas season, there is a thought that I wanted to consider. I heard a teacher say, "If we want to have Jesus in us, sometimes that means we have to be a manger."
A manger is an insignificant piece of furniture in a stable, or barn. It's only purpose is to hold the grain or feed for livestock. Our English word comes from a French/Latin root, "manger", which means to eat. The Hebrew word can mean a crib, or a stall for an animal.
None of us likes to consider ourselves an insignificant piece of farm furniture, but it is just this kind of container that held the glory of the Son of God:
"And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."   Lk. 2:7
If we are this humble food trough, the Lord Jesus can inhabit us in all His glory, and the world can come to us to feed upon the living Word of God. From this humble farm furniture, the provision of life can be given and sustained. Jesus described Himself as this provision:
"Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world...I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."   Jn. 6:32-35
The prophet Amos warned:
"Behold the days are coming", says the LORD God, "That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD...They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it."   Amos 8:11-12
The famine for the Bread of Life, the Word of God, came upon Israel because they cared more about their own pride, wealth and worldly provision, even praying upon the weak and poor, than they cared for the true provision of God (v.5-6). This suggests to us that perhaps one reason the famine came was because no one was interested in being a manger. Do we in the church have this same mindset today? Do we despise being a manger?
Jesus prayed that we would receive the same glory that He has. One way to have that glory is to contain His glory, and not our own. He worded it this way:
"And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one, just as We are one...Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."  Jn. 17:22, 24
We share the glory, because we share the place of glory. The glory that we have is because of the Glory we contain.
The manger of our Christmas story, had no importance of its own. It had no name, nor reputation. Men didn't come to see this manger because it was the most "special" manger ever made. Lowly animals had eaten from it unaware of any extraordinary quality of that manger. However, the world sings of that nameless, utilitarian manger, and men journeyed from distances to that manger, because of what it contained: the Glory of God, and the Bread of life come down from heaven.

Our Father has called us to be mangers, that His Son may be laid within us.

"Child in a Manger Born"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZkrBC0SZek

"He Made a Way in a Manger"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwe7GDl9-04