"Christmas is more than just a baby being born in a manger. More than a poor fiancé engaged to a humble virgin teenager. More than a Magi, more than gold, frankincense and myrrh, it's more than the narrative of a nativity scene; it was so much more that occurred. It's the coming of the Messiah, the fulfillment of all Old Testament promises, the prophecy of the suffering Servant and all His accomplishments." –Odd Thomas
Just think: This is the day when the second person of the Trinity gave up His position and clothed himself with flesh to forgive the sins of men. This day was the day our Hero bridged the gap between God and man, grabbing our hand and God's to bring us together in perfect relationship. It’s crazy to think that today is the day Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God is with us)." Isaiah 7:14
Last week I stood in a checkout line holding a present for someone and was overwhelmed at how much we idolize everything, except Jesus on the day of His birth. For example, having fun with Santa and his elves is fine, but for these characters to take the place of Jesus negates the true purpose of this holiday. My chest tightened and I began to grip the present with emotion asking for forgiveness for the way I don’t celebrate and worship God for His decision to come as a man. When you think of it this way, all of a sudden it’s not about wreaths, trees and presents…, but it’s ALL about Him, our God, our Savior, our Redeemer, and Friend. This is the day that e v e r y t h i n g changed; we learned from the Creator Himself about our value, that wretched sinners like us were worth His sacrifice.
So this is our tradition, that we celebrate the coming of our God and Hero, our Savior that came to pull us from the pit of death and clothe us with righteousness. So before presents are unwrapped, mistletoe hung, men tune to their football games, food eaten, and Christmas songs sung, sneak off to your quiet place, shut the door and worship. Thank our King as today is the day the incarnate deity came to a broken world and gave us the greatest gifts of all… crazy love, amazing forgiveness and everlasting life.
Merry Christmas,
Russell Gaither
