A Reason for the Manger

Luke 2:12, "And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

The angel ended his message to the shepherds by telling them just where to find Jesus. Now think about this, the angel had just told them that the Saviour of the world had been born. Then he told them that the Saviour would be the one lying in the manger.
I really started thinking about this verse this week. Perhaps God put Jesus in a manger because He knew that would make Jesus approachable. I mean imagine if He had been born in a palace. Do you think the shepherds would have dared to go there? Probably not.
They would have been amazed at the angel's message, but they probably wouldn't have gone to their Saviour. But a manger in a barn? That was a place they were comfortable with. That was a place they could approach their Saviour.
That is just one more thing to prove that Christ will come to you right where you are. He lowered Himself from all of heaven's glory to become the Saviour of the world. We don't have to become rich or powerful to accept His saving gift. We don't have to be beautiful or dressed a certain way. We don't have to be perfect.
And that is something to be thankful for this Christmas season. Though I'm sure Mary never quite understood the manger, I'm sure that the shepherds were very thankful for it. Because it allowed them to approach their Saviour without fear.
And we can still approach Him without fear today!