All the inns, hotels and guest rooms in Bethlehem were full. There was not a single room left for Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, and her husband Joseph. And Mary was ready to have her baby. Desperate, and with no place else to go, they were able to lodge in a stable where there was straw to keep them warm. Jesus` first cradle was, in fact, a manger--a straw-filled trough which was usually used to feed the animals.

However, since Jesus is God`s Son, and since God can do anything, He could have been born anywhere. God could have worked it out that He be born in a nice inn or fancy room. But God chose for His Son to be born in a stable. This is because Jesus came in humility and in poverty to identify with the poorest and weakest among us.

Jesus is the King of Kings and could have been born in a palace. Instead, He chose the path of humility, of lowliness and simplicity.

Jesus could have been born in luxury. Instead, He was born in a stable with animals. How glorious a King Jesus is that He would humble yield to such a lowly birth!