SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
Christmas is such a joyous time. I love the decorations – not only at our house – but also those that the neighbors put up. Ours is rather tame compared to some of our neighbors, but that’s okay…….we have what WE enjoy!
I love the season that reminds us that our Savior was born – to bring us life everlasting in His presence. I’m sorry that society has made it into something so commercial, that so many people can’t see past the glitter to see God’s handiwork. We received an e-mail from some friends who are working with Wycliffe Bible Translators, telling of some translators in Nigeria who were working on Luke 2:7, where “She [Mary] gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” After pondering the word “manger” the locals used a word. When the Wycliffe translator asked what that word meant, they said it was a “cradle” hung by ropes where the newborn could be laid and it could be swung.
The Wycliffe translator tried to get them to understand that was not what happened – that Jesus came in the lowest possible way, that it wasn’t just a matter of tradition. God expects us to find the words that express the original meaning as accurately as possible. Furthermore, this word tells us something profound about God. “When He came to live among us and bring salvation to us, He came in the lowliest way possible. He did not come and sleep in a nice rope-hung cradle like every mother wants for her newborn. Instead, He showed us his unbelievable humility. So we need to find your best word for an animal feeding trough.”
Suddenly the one who had argued most loudly for the traditional term offered, “We feed our animals out of an old worn-out basket that is not usable anymore except to feed the animals. We have another word for it.”
And so they used that word.
That story reminded me of a man in our church who works on the Jesus film for the Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru). He said that there was a translator working with the team in Africa going from village to village, and he would translate. But it wasn’t until they took the film to HIS village, and he heard the story in his heart language that he finally understood the message of Christ!
God has made it so very easy for us to know and find Him. In the “after-Christmas” we must hang on to the message that God sent his one and only Son to be born in the lowliest way possible, and grow into the man who would die for our sins, so we can live forever in His presence.
How very great is our God!!
Psalm 8:9
Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Old Things R New 
Thank you for a nice reminder of how majestic our Lord truly is!
LikeLike