The first song on guitar I ever learned was Away in a Manger. My Papa wrote the chords into a Christmas book of songs we have and how each of them are formed. It was crazy to be looking through that book when I was about 12, several years after He had died, and to know that He will still there in a way, teaching me one of his greatest skills.

A lot of times when we sing Christmas songs, we just get so excited that it’s finally the “correct” time of year for them (even though I started in October), that we miss out on more of their meaning.

I think that’s incredibly true for Away in a Manger, which we probably think of as more of a kiddie song. But it’s a song filled with an incredible truth.

Verse 1: Away in a manger/ No crib for His bed/ The little Lord Jesus/ Lay down His sweet head/ The stars in the sky/ Look down where He lay/ The little Lord Jesus/ Asleep on the hay

There is such a sweetness to this song. A kind of innocence that you really can only have as a child.

Matthew 18:1-4 says, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

We are called as Christians to have a faith like a child’s. One that looks at everything in awe. I know for all of us we’ve seen kids who just get so excited about the littlest of things. They possess a innocent faith, an innocent sense of wonderment and not only is it beautiful, but it’s such a shame when we lose that about ourselves.

Unless you’re an only child, or the youngest, you will have some memories of when you were a little kid and your mom or dad told you to sit on the couch and they brought you your baby sibling so you could hold them. That is such a sweet time for everyone. To look at this bright new bundle of a person that is now a part of your family.

Mary and Joseph probably felt the same way. This sweet little baby Jesus, asleep in a feeding trough or his mother’s arms would’ve been helpless, but so beloved like all babies are.

Verse 2: The cattle are lowing/ The poor Baby wakes/ But little Lord Jesus/ No crying He makes/ I love Thee, Lord Jesus/ Look down from the sky/ And stay by my side/ 'Til morning is nigh

This song paints the biggest portrait of how special He was. Now do I think He never cried? No. I’m sure he cried. We know from Scripture that He felt hunger, and sadness, and pain and knew what it was like to lose those He loved. We can have the relationship with Him that we have because He knows everything that we’ve ever been through or ever could go through. And not just from looking down at us, but from experiencing it Himself, and then being right next to us as we experience it. He was God made perfect in human flesh.

I also love this verse because as a kid it was so comforting to me to cry out to him and say, “Jesus, be next to me. I need you as a friend right now. I need you as a comforter.” And I always felt that He was.

Verse 3: Be near me, Lord Jesus/ I ask Thee to stay/ Close by me forever/ And love me, I pray/ Bless all the dear children/ In Thy tender care/ And take us to Heaven/ To live with Thee there

It talks about our Lord Jesus as a baby, an infant who will one day save the rest of humanity. When that boy grows up, He's not going to be just any man, but the Messiah, the Chosen King, Immanuel, which means God with us. This song is about God’s nearness to us. Not only was He just a God who can empathize with our weaknesses; He’s a God who lived in those weaknesses, yet without sin.

Hebrews 1:1-4 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

The fact that He became a man and dwelled among us is incredible. I’ve already said it, but it just blows me away. God has shown Himself through Creation, through His Word, through His messengers, but more than anything through His Son Jesus. A High King, heir of all things and our best friend.

We find God away in a manger. The Master of all things, humbled, so that He could be near us, and we in turn could be near Him.