Bethlehem Blessing

When Joseph the carpenter found out that Mary was going to have a baby, he was very upset.  He was a good man and did not want to disgrace her.  Then an angel appeared to Joseph, too, and said, "Do not think Mary has been unfaithful.  The child she is carrying is God's Son.  You are to name the boy Jesus.  Go ahead with your plans to marry her."  So Joseph brought Mary home and took good care of her.

An order came from Caesar Augustus, the Roman ruler, that everyone had to go to his hometown to be registered and counted.  Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, and he took Mary with him.  The journey was hard, especially for Mary.  When they got to Bethlehem, the city was very crowded, and all the inns were full.  Mary and Joseph had to stay in a place where the animals were kept.  The place was warm, and the faces of the animals were more kindly looking than many of the human faces in the streets.  Joseph gently laid Mary down. 

That night a wonderful, beautiful, incredible thing happened.  The Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings and the Savior of the World, was born to a young Jewish girl and her carpenter husband in a stable full of animals.  The little baby boy fell asleep in Mary's arms and she wrapped him up in cloths and laid him in the trough on some clean straw.  Soon she, too, fell asleep.

(From Classic Bible Stories, A Family Treasury retold by Lise Caldwell (c) 1998 Standard Publishing.  Used by permission.  This book may be purchased at your local Christian Bookstore or from Standard Publishing (800-543-1301).