The birth of Jesus is the most significant event in history apart from the creation of the world. From the Bible's perspective, the birth of Jesus was God entering his creation in human form. It is a birth that was prophesied centuries before it happened. And it was the most anticipated event in the world. Generations yearned to see it happen. From the human perspective, we would expect that such a significant event would have taken place under very prominent circumstances. He would have been given the best pre-natal and postnatal care. But is this how it happened? Indeed, when the angel announced the birth to the shepherds in the field that night, he gave them one sign to distinguish the new born Christ from the other children born on that day. He said they will find this extraordinary baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Of course the shepherds knew what a manger was - a long open container that cattle eat from, in the cattle shed where they kept their flock. It is not the cot for new born children to be placed in, and definitely not the crib for an important person of any significance to be laid. And yet that was where the one whose birth had been prophesied by the prophets centuries ago, the one whose birth was announced by a star and a host of angels, was put - in a manger. No wonder the wise men from the East lost their way and strayed into Herod's palace. After all if you are looking for the one who is born king, where should you look? Is it not in the palace? That is where human wisdom would have placed the baby but that is not where God in his infinite wisdom and unlimited power placed his only begotten son. I believe that if you are a man and your wife had to give birth in a manger, you would feel very bad about it. You would feel that you have let the baby and his mother down badly. And if you are a woman and you had to put your first child in a manger, you would feel devastated and ashamed. And if you grew up and discovered you were placed in a manger, you would feel very inferior, there's no dignity in that. And yet that is where God ensured Jesus was put. So, what lesson is God trying to teach us by allowing Jesus to be laid in a manger? In life, it is not where you begin but what your purpose or destiny is that matters. And the family into which you are born does not matter as much as where you are going. It is not your background that matters but your purpose. Your purpose transcends your background. Jesus being put in a manger did not change the fact that he was the son of God sent to save the world and give us eternal life. Many big men and women in Ghana have no high background to talk about. One of our political leaders came from so poor a background that when he passed the common entrance, he could not raise the lorry fare to report to his school. Many of our successful people have backgrounds so poor and insignificant that you could say that they had mangers for cots. But thank God that no matter where or what you were born into, your purpose can take you all the way to the top. It is sad that many people try to hide their poor background. Some people's birthplaces cannot be found on any map but they want to give the impression that they were born in affluence in a big city. They feel ashamed of their manger-type background and shamelessly lie about it. There are people who went to very poor schools without modem amenities who want us to believe that they went to Achimota. It is sad that we try to hide our manger-like background because when we do that people cannot see how far we have come and how good God has been to us. There are people among us who are walking miracles because when you look at where they began life, there is no way they should have been able to get to where they are today and yet they are there. In a sense they were placed in a manger and now they are running companies and employing people or propping up the nation. They should not hide their backgrounds; they should trumpet it so loudly that people will see how awesome God is, to bring them this far. What is your manger? What is your manger-like background? From today, I want you to take pride in it because there is a reason you were born in a "manger." God wants to use you to make a statement that there is nothing impossible for him. From that manger-like background, he can still bring you to the very top. It is unfortunate that we use people's background to ridicule them when that same background should make us salute them. At the university it is common to find those who went to popular secondary schools laughing at those who went to village schools. But if someone went to Nsuoase SHS and you went to Mfantsipim School and that Nsuoase guy is sitting in the same lecture hall with you then you should understand that he has accomplished more than you have. From a good school like Achimota or Mfantsipim to the university is virtually a matter of course. But from a village school like Nsuoase SHS to the university is an awesome achievement and the person who accomplishes that almost impossible feat deserves honour and respect and not ridicule. He or she is greatness born in a manger. We ignorantly laugh at greatness because greatness often comes in unattractive packages. If someone has a poorer background than you do and yet has caught up with you then stop laughing at him and begin to recognize him as greater than you are. If you find yourself among people who have a far better background than you have, begin to hold your head high because you have accomplished far more to catch up with them than they can ever imagine. It is time for those of us from poor backgrounds to stand tall and refuse to let the world put us down. We might have crawled our way up from a deep hole but we are standing on the top of the mountain with people born on higher ground. We are not cheap and we have nothing to be ashamed of but everything to be proud of. So, own your manger with pride.