After we finished excersizing today I collapsed to the floor by our bookshelves in the living room and said “Whew!  I’m going to sleep right here!”  I turned my head to the side and was about to close my eyes when I noticed one of my old German poetry books from college.  I hadn’t looked in it probably since college and so I picked it up and it opened to the following short poem by Angelus Silesius .

It Depends on You (by Angelus Silesius)

Oh, if only your heart could become a manger, God would once again become a child on earth.

The imagery and words immediately brought varying thoughts to my mind.

First, the image of a manger.  When we read in Luke chapter 2, we read of Joseph and Mary trying to find room in the busy inns.  In contrast, they find a humble location and a place in a manger.  In addition, I looked up words similar to “manger” in the thesarus and words such as “bassinet” and “cradle” are synonomous to manger.  I asked myself, is my heart like the inn or like the manger?  What can I do to clear it out and make it a place that God can rest?

The next thing I thought of was the part stating that “God would become once again as a child on earth.”  I thought of the numerous scriptures that Jesus spoke of us becoming like a child.  My favorite scripture is in Mosiah 3:19 when it talks about putting away our natural man and becoming patient, meek, humble, and willing to accept everything God gives us…the good and the not-so-good.

I’d like to hear what you thought of as you read the poem or my comments. 

How can we make room in our hearts for the Savior?

What can we do to become humble and meek like a child?

Why is it important, or is it even important to do these things?