Joy to the World, the Lord has come! That’s the Reason for the Season. I love how the Christmas carol “Joy to the World” ends … “And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.”

My outdoor nativity scene is up. My indoor nativities are out. I am sitting here late at night thinking about that first Christmas and the “wonders of His love.”

It wasn’t the heavenly choir or the brilliant light or the worshipping shepherds, nor was it the star or the caravan of Magi from the east that brought the “wonders of His love.” It was a carpenter, his teenage bride, a dirty place for animals and the birthing of a helpless baby in its midst. The Prince of Peace, the Glorious Son of God, born to the poorest of the poor.

That is how Christianity began. There were no grand cathedrals, no rich robes, no golden bells, or incense. There was dirty, fetid straw, and swaddling cloths that Mary would have brought with her. There was the bleating of animals and the stench of urine and feces.

Jesus came to the poor and the powerless. He still comes to the poor and the powerless. “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he said to the crowd. [Matthew 5:3]

There could not have been two more poor in spirit than His adopted father and birth mother, Joseph and Mary. There could not be anyone more poor in spirit than He, Himself, who gave up everything to take on our infirmities and limitations.

Let the “wonders of His love” capture your heart this Christmas season.