Merry Christmas! Have you done it yet this year? Have you fallen back into the same pattern of promising to keep the true meaning of Christmas but then yielding to the craziness and busyness and losing it again? I know. I’m there, too. So let’s get back on track together, shall we?
As you read this, take a deep breath. Jesus became human to save you. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but, instead, let go of it, becoming human. Not just any human. Christmas is the fulfillment of dozens of Old Testament prophecies pointing to the manner in which God would save His people. Jesus is the “Seed” of Eve that would crush the Serpent’s head. Jesus was the plan from the beginning, a plan that worked to reconcile us back to God.
Have you ever felt like calling 9-1-1 is faster than God’s rescues? Between Eve and Mary there is a huge gap of time. And yet, when God shows up it is never too late. And when He shows up He changes everything. He is not always fast, but He is always complete. He did not come to offer us Heaven alone. He came to offer us life and connected fellowship with Himself now. He did not come to simply show us how to do stuff in a Godly way. He came to be God in us and to work through us to do things His way. He did not come to be the upgrade but the power supply. We do not download Truth and live in it, we plug into Truth and He is our source for life. We abide. We don’t need to strive. God does the hard work in us. Our hard work is remaining in Him without bolting to old ways of coping with life. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus gave Himself to us forever.
So let it be a silent night. A holy night. Calm your heart. Slow down your pace. Spend just five minutes reflecting: God became human to save you from Hell, and to save you from your own sin, and to save you from your pain and despair. Whatever comes to the surface in that five minutes is what God wants to address in your heart. I pray that you will allow Jesus to continue to rescue you. I need Him to keep rescuing me! And as we enter another Christmas Eve, may you sleep in heavenly peace. Merry Christmas!
