A few years ago, when my nephew, Nathaniel, was nine years old, he made his grandma a most precious little stable out of brown Popsicle sticks and some straw. It looked quite authentic, with a big star attached on top. It even had a tiny manger in it. But so far there had been no baby in the manger. "Not yet," Nathaniel told grandma every time he saw her. "You have to wait for the baby." Nathaniel did a good job of waiting, and making the rest of us wait, even though we all felt the emptiness of the manger every time we looked at the Popsicle stick stable. Finally, it was Christmas day. The moment Nathaniel arrived at Grandma's house we all shouted, "Put the baby in the manger!" Nathaniel was ready. He hurried to complete the scene. At last, the baby had arrived.

Without the baby in the manger, what would we Kingdom workers do? Can you picture it? When we knocked on doors and people answered we would have to say, "I just wanted to tell you I have some bad news. You have a debt to pay, and no way to pay it. Even the nicest things you have ever done are filthy rags to God. Okay. Nice talking to you. Goodbye." Or our "witness" to someone might go something like this, "Let me tell you about someone. His name is Satan and he is near me all the time. He tempts me to do terrible things, and I have no way to resist him. Just thought you would like to know. Okay. Have a nice day." Or, as we hold the hand of a dying person, we could only say, "I'm here to give you no comfort. It is hopeless. Well, peace on earth and love to all. I have to go now." Yoish. Be a Kingdom worker without the baby? No, thank you. If that were the case, I would resign.

But the baby in the manger changed everything. He changed our lives, our future, and therefore, our witness. Thousands of years ago Isaiah spoke to the people of Jerusalem about the changes this baby would bring:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
       that her hard service has been completed,
       that her sin has been paid for,
       that she has received from the LORD's hand
       double for all her sins.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
       and all mankind together will see it. (Isaiah 40: 1-2, 5)

The wait is over. Christmas has come. Put the baby in the manger, Nathaniel, as a reminder of His redemption, His hope, His comfort, and a reminder to tell the world that the waiting is over. The Savior has come. Let our prayer this week be one of thanks and praise to God the Father for the baby in the manger, and for the privilege of telling the world about this Good News.