An Empty Manger?

I know sometimes I forget that Christmas is not about the gifts we give- however generous or those given to us by family, friends, or others- no matter how wrapped in love. Christmas is about the gift we receive in the birth of the Baby Jesus. It is about the Babe who was laid in that manger so briefly but who leaves it so swiftly to earn our salvation.  He gives us an empty manger, a empty cross, a empty tomb and a life in which we are never alone.