The Feel of Christmas in Far Away Countries.

A stable in a Middle East village.

Lights. Music. Trees. Family. Presents. When one thinks of Christmas these are often some thoughts associated with it. In many parts of the world, particularly Muslim countries, there aren’t any Christmas lights and no Christmas music. In many cultures, people still travel on donkeys down dusty roads. Though far away from Bethlehem one can imagine that the way of life for many people on the earth resembles that of the daily life in Jesus’ time. While cities are more advanced and the influence of technology is everywhere, there’s still a simple aspect to life in many third world countries. People aren’t rushing around to get everything done, they always seem to have time to stop and spend time with friends. They do things by hand as opposed to having machines do the work for them. They work hard and for long hours when possible because they must to survive. Many of them have not traveled away from their home cities very often and only a few have made it to another country. Life seems to be somewhat predictable and the general population lives fairly predictable lives. This si probably what Bethlehem must have been like at the time of Jesus birth.

When Jesus was born not many people seemed to be expecting him. If they had known that he was the Messiah then they probably would have made room for him in a house. Most of the people around the world do not know Jesus as the Messiah either. They’ve heard of him, of his virgin birth and his miracles. Some believe that He’s the one coming on judgment day, but they believe that He was only a prophet.

Traveling during the Christmas holidays to a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas can actually feel like you are stepping back in time to the era of Christ's birth. Mary may have been riding a donkey into Bethlehem with the dust being kicked up. Life, outside of the registration, was probably carrying on as it had for years or centuries. There were no lights but the stars and no music but the sound of the animals. Only a few were there to celebrate at the birth of the single most important person in history. However, in a few short years this little baby would change Israel and eventually, the world. What a joy it will be when the nations discover the truth of that baby, Jesus, (Emmanuel - 'God with us') and worship Him.