A Savior Was Born!
Hey y'all.
This month, we begin our series on Christmas and we’ve been mega busy around here. Today, our post is late because yesterday was our daughter’s 12th birthday. As we celebrated a bit, we also took a moment to reflect on this season of hope and miracles. We took some time to thank God for her life and also for the gift he gave us when He gave us her. Speaking of gifts, let’s reflect on what exactly it is that we celebrate as Christians this Christmas season.
This season, we celebrate what is stated in the verse of the week; “Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11 CSB. This season, we celebrate hope, love, and miracles that are reflected on Jesus’s birth. The hope of salvation, the love of God expressed in His sending His only begotten son to die on the cross (John 3:16-17). It truly is the most wonderful time of the year in my opinion, but for a different reason than the world expresses. To me, the greatest gift ever given is Jesus. He came to the world as 100% man and 100% God; as the King and Creator of the world, humble and in a manger, took the shape of man to suffer as we suffer but to resist sin so that through Him we may be saved! No expression of love demonstrated by human hands could EVER compare to that of God’s. He lay in that manger, as a baby, already making the much earlier prophecies of his birth come true. The Messiah, ready to make a way for us to be reconciled to our heavenly father, ready to complete that perfect sacrifice in complete obedience to the will of The Father. Ready to die out of love for you and me. Jesus knew what was coming, he knew that there would be those who reject him, yet he chose to lay down His crown, step away from His throne and sacrifice himself for our sin. This season, we celebrate the love that God has for His people. We celebrate the miracle that was the virgin birth and the coming of the Lord to a world full of sin and pain. We celebrate the opportunity God has given us to come before him in humility and complete repentance of our sins. Now is the time of year where we as people feel kindness more deeply. Look around you, people everywhere say Merry Christmas to each other, but if it was another point in time of the year, say summer time, they’d walk right past you without a second glance. The air around us may be cold (those of us in colder climates), but our hearts just aren’t. This is the season of brotherly love, of kind gestures, and of miracles. Take the time to reach the lost. A random act of GENUINE kindness goes a long way, smile at someone and see how the receptiveness of your words changes. Share the gospel with someone, after all, T’ is the season!
I want to encourage you to also be with those who mourn this holiday season. It is difficult to lose a loved one, but even more so around the holidays. Show up for someone, giving them a physical gift is nice, but it’s even better to be a shoulder to lean on during the difficult moments. Go volunteer at a shelter, a nursing home, or even a hospice care center, but do SOMETHING to share the love of Christ with someone, you never know who is out there wishing to hear a message of hope at this time. So share with us how you celebrate this season of hope in the comments. Thank you for hanging out a while, see y’all!