Some much-loved Christmas songs add things to the narrative which aren\u2019t all together helpful. \u201d\u02dcAway in a Manger\u2019 is one such culprit \u201d\u201c how do we know Jesus didn\u2019t cry? And don\u2019t get me started on \u201d\u02dcLittle Donkey\u2019. I mean, a little donkey, carrying Mary, following a star? Really?<\/p>\n
I know some of you will be fuming by this point, and I\u2019m being deliberately provocative, but take a moment to think it through. The Bible Christmas story has no donkey, no innkeeper, no kings apart from Herod. What it does have is God\u2019s promised saviour come to live with his people. It\u2019s a life-changing story, one that promises eternal life.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m getting at, in my roundabout, ranty way, is this: we have reduced the greatest story we can tell \u201d\u201c the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Christ \u201d\u201c to a series of clich\u00c3\u00a9s and non-Bible sentiments. The world is crying out to hear this story of salvation, so let\u2019s tell it with all the shock, surprise, joy, drama, grief, happiness and life of the biblical account. This awesome, powerful story doesn\u2019t need a donkey or a badly acted innkeeper. It needs people willing to share the good news and the difference it has made to them.<\/p>\n