The art, music, and pageantry of Christmas focus on the "little town of Bethlehem" and the baby asleep in a manger. What mother can't close her eyes and recall her own child asleep in the crib? We delight in these precious expressions of the coming of Jesus into the world.

But we can't let a baby in a manger be the only part of our understanding of Christ. We don't bow in homage to a sleeping child. We have a living, vital relationship with the crucified, risen, glorified Christ!

First Samuel 7 tells us how the ark of the covenant, the very symbol of God's presence and power, had long languished in a remote village (v.2). The nation of Israel had not revered the Almighty God in a long time. He was shelved, forgotten.

How could they do such a thing? Yet many of us show the same memory lapse. Do we think of Jesus only at Christmastime? Do our only thoughts of the King of all creation picture Him as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes? Then we're still missing the true message of Christmas!

We can't keep Jesus in a nativity scene. He longs for a living, dynamic relationship with us. Just as Israel brought the ark out of obscurity and into everyday life, so let us bring Christ out of the cradle and into our lives.  — David C. Egner