By Pastor Johnie Akers
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
— Luke 2:7 (KJV)
On that holy night in Bethlehem, God chose a place most unexpected for the entrance of His Son into the world. The King of kings was not laid in a cradle of gold, nor welcomed into a palace, but placed gently in a manger. A manger is a feeding trough, a place where animals come to be nourished. Yet in the wisdom of God, it became the first resting place of the Bread of Life.
From the beginning, this scene preached a sermon. The world was hungry—hungry for truth, hungry for righteousness, hungry for salvation. Sin had left mankind empty and broken, feeding on things that could never satisfy. And so God placed His Son where food is found, declaring without words that Jesus Christ had come to feed a starving world.
Jesus would later say, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). But before He spoke those words, His life testified to them. Wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, Heaven’s provision was offered in humility. The Bread of Life did not come demanding honor; He came offering Himself.
The manger also reminds us that God meets us where we are. Animals do not come to fine tables; they come to troughs. Likewise, Christ came down to the lowest place so that none would be beyond His reach. The shepherds, simple and overlooked, were among the first invited to see Him. The invitation was clear: all who hunger may come and be filled.
At Christmas, we are reminded that Jesus was born to be given. His life would be broken, just as bread is broken, so that many might live. The manger points forward to the cross, where the Bread of Life would be offered fully for the sins of the world.
This season, as we reflect on Luke 2:7, may we see more than a humble birthplace. May we recognize God’s loving provision. The world is still hungry, but the Bread of Life has come. And all who partake of Him shall be satisfied forever.
To establish the people of Central Appalachia in the principles of the Kingdom of God, and thereby releasing them to rise above all cultural, historical, economic, and generational limitations so they may live abundantly within their privileges and covenant as sons and daughters of God.