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Maintaining the manger attitude
Bethlehem was bustling. In this ordinarily sleepy little town, travelers registering for the tax were crowding the inn until there was no room for more. But there remained a quiet place for one small family. "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7.
The modest stable with its quiet manger provided a place for the infant Jesus, whose entire momentous career exemplified the Christ, the spiritual idea of divine Love. To me, the manger symbolizes the type of receptivity required to welcome the dawning of the Christ in individual consciousness.
In the flurry of holiday festivities, one may be tempted to allow his mental atmosphere to become as crowded as that beehive of a Bethlehem inn. Thoughts may swarm with one taxing demand elbowing another—special events crowding out sleepy routine, anxious moments consumed in the irrelevant tradition of spending until spent. Or perhaps walls of loneliness and partitions of purposelessness would separate one from the calmness of holy, uplifting joy.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
December 9, 1985 issue
View Issue-
No inertia in our growth Spiritward
DORINDA REED STALEY
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Night light
CAROL P. WAGNER
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Love's freedom
ELVEY WILLIAM ALFRED BARTON
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The listening mission
WILLIAM KENNETH THORNTON
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Abundance now
VIRGINIA T. GUFFIN
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The spiritual universe—where we live
ARLINE WALKER EVANS
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You're lovely, not lonely!
FRANCES FIGGINS
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Maintaining the manger attitude
MARIAN C. ENGLISH
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Think of the wonder
HELEN M. GOULD, THOMAS HUNTINGTON GOULD
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SECOND THOUGHT
J. Grant Swank
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Never powerless
ALLISON W. PHINNEY
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Two examples—one divine Principle
BARBARA-JEAN STINSON
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A lesson from the lions' den
Leslie Cavill Haslam
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Recently while I was singing Hymn No. 249...
KATHEY L. M. HOLLAND with contributions from ANTHONY HOLLAND
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I have had many blessings as a result of spiritual enlightenment...
ADELIA A. SEBALD