Is Our Manger Scene Right or Wrong?

Picture the manger scene.

Whether your child’s Fisher Price playset first came to mind or those vintage Christmas blow molds scattered across yards, we’re all familiar with the nativity scene and its characters, aren’t we?

No matter if we’ve followed Christ for decades or just put our faith in Him yesterday, we can set up the scene within seconds:

Shepherds to one side, wisemen on the other. Mary and Joseph huddled a bit closer toward the center ring. A few animals scattered about with an angel hovering above. And last, but certainly not least, baby Jesus smack dab in the center.

But what if it wasn’t set up like that?

What if you took Jesus out and put the shepherds in the spotlight?

Or what if you kept the Son of God in—just off to stage left—while moving the wisemen to center stage?

Have we ever thought of bringing the angel down for fifteen minutes of fame?

No… because that would just be weird, right? We know the right way to lay it out! Little People even took out the guesswork, and the angel fits perfectly on a peg up on top!

Here’s the deal though: Although we may not be making the mistake of wrongly positioning the characters in our manger scenes, what about our actual lives? While we know Jesus should be at the center, what if we’re moving the pieces around to the point where—while Jesus is still in the scene—He’s no longer where He should be? 

Like if we nudged the shepherds forward and considered how they worked from sun-up to sun-down, this could symbolize our work. Since we spend most of our time—8 hours a day, give or take—in our jobs, it begs us to answer the question: Have we in turn given the majority of our attention, worship, and heart to our careers over Christ?

Or scooch them back and bump the wisemen into the limelight. These guys were wealthy and armed with lavish gifts, so if representing fame, education, wealth, or popularity, how have we sought to build our own kingdoms over building His? Are we out to make a name for ourselves or to make the only Name that saves known?

What about Joseph and Mary? If we had them symbolizing family, marriage, kids, or relationships, it’d be mighty tempting to say, “THIS IS IT. They’re in the right spot! Family first!” But when we put people on a pedestal, in such a high and lofty place they were never intended to be in, we’ll only get disappointed—because we cannot ask them to be who God is nor ask them to do what only God can do.

Then, we can’t forget those animals. Beyond just equating them with our pets, if they also represented our hobbies, ways we spend our free time, and just overall the things we enjoy, how many of us would have these figurines at the front and center? Maybe we’ve been convicted to take a step back, but they make us feel good… so we’ve kept them where we want them.

Lastly, the angel came to share the news of Jesus—meaning you can’t have the angel without Jesus. But if we go to church, sing some worship songs, and read the boxes only to check off the boxes without actually turning our gaze to Jesus, we miss the whole point.

Truly, like the sun in the solar system, we all revolve our lives around something. It’s that thing we orient our world around, and it’s where we put so much of our energy towards. Like with the manger scene though, all of us intrinsically know that “everything was created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16) and “living means living for Christ '' (Philippians 1:21). Yet we have the choice to decide how much of a priority each piece of the scene gets in our lives.

Who (or what) sits at the center of the manger scene of your life today?

May this Christmas, we follow behind the footsteps of the shepherds who left the nativity scene changed men. Not only did they seek Jesus in the middle of their work shift—giving Jesus the highest of importance—but when they returned, they “told everyone what had happened” (Luke 2:17) and who Jesus was, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).

As you go throughout your festivities, joining the shepherds celebrating the true Reason for the season and giving Jesus His rightful place in the center of your life, who knows? Like “all who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished” (Luke 2:18), may your testimony of faith create the same domino effect to those around you as well.