I have to admit, I don’t always have the best attitude when it comes to Christmas. As a child, it was always excitement. The holiday was all about getting gifts. What from my list would actually show up under the tree? Then, I had kids of my own, and it became special again for new reasons. For a few years. I was excited to see Christmas through their eyes, to relive the magic that had long since dimmed for myself. But, after a while, that too faded.
This year, I wanted to feel different than the last few years. I wanted to feel like a child again, counting down the days, getting more and more excited as time passed. I wanted Christmas to be more than just a day, but more like an experience in my heart. I prayed that God would open my eyes anew to the season. That I would understand more in depth exactly what it was I was celebrating, and also, what I wasn’t.
Here is what He has shown me:
When Jesus was born the whole world changed. As Mary gazed down at her brand new baby boy, she wasn’t looking at just any baby, she was looking at God Himself. A God who, out of His great and perfect love for His people, and never wanting to be separated from a single one of us, left Heaven. He got down off of His throne, put on flesh, and came into our dirty, sin filled, world as a baby. A helpless baby. A baby that was going to have to depend on a human to care for him. To keep him safe and meet all of his needs. The God of the universe, capable of all things, now incapable of caring for himself. Our holy and perfect God, free of all sin, now cared for by a human, and in a world, both totally infected with sin. Mary and Joseph looked down upon their child, and gazed into the eyes of God in the flesh.
That is a miracle! No one had seen God face to face like this before. Moses had seen God’s shadow and goodness pass by him, and Isaiah fell face down unable to stand much less look at God when he entered God’s throne room in a dream. But here, Mary and Joseph stare into the eyes of their newborn son, and look straight into the eyes of God. And this, this very thing, the fact that He is here, Emmanuel, God with us, changes everything! It’s a miracle.
The birth of Jesus places God in our world. Living in our conditions. Tempted by the same temptations as we are. He is with us, living, breathing, working, serving, loving. And this was just the beginning.
Many other miracles happen at the time of this miraculous birth. There were shepherds who were visited by an angel of God, telling them that their king, savior, and messiah had been born.
“8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.” Luke 2:8-20
Then the heavenly hosts declare the birth of Jesus.
“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men[a] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,[b] and we have come to worship him.”...And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:1-2, 9b-11.
A star so bright and big that it catches the attention of wise men in a distant land. Men who studied the heavens seeking to gain an understanding of events on earth. This new star, so bright and beautiful, suggested to them the birth of a new and great king. So, these wise men pack up and plan their pilgrimage to seek out this new king and pay tribute. Both the shepherds and the wise men have the same response when they set their eyes upon Jesus. Worship and praise.
Instead of trying to comprehend intellectually an angel visiting them, a bright star that just appears in the night sky, or how in the world (let alone why) God would come to earth in flesh, they all just fall to their knees in humble worship, and praise God. They knew they were looking face to face with a mysterious miracle. And for these men, it changes everything.
And it changes everything for me too.
Previous to that day, we (humanity) were trapped. Sin kept us stuck. We were stuck trying to earn our way to God. We had to follow very strict laws in order to be considered righteous. Inevitably, the laws would be broken. Then there were more laws telling us how to deal with the broken laws. If we did all the right things, stayed away from all the wrong things, and followed all the rules we could be considered righteous. This righteousness would lead to eternal life with God. Here’s the deal: I can’t live a perfect life. Heck! I can’t live a perfect day. I just can’t do it. Can you feel the weight of this on your shoulders? Does it feel hopeless?
But then...a baby came...a mysterious miracle.
One day, I’m stuck, hopeless, and giving up. The next day, I have hope.
Everything has changed.
Christmas is just the beginning, and that is what I am celebrating. It’s about a miracle. It’s not about celebrating gifts, menus, people, or decorations. I am celebrating something so much bigger. I am celebrating the day in which the whole world changed. It’s a moment in history that drew a dividing line in the sand. The world was one way, and then it was all changed the next day. The moment a teenage virgin, gave birth in a dirty stable, because there was no room for her or her baby anywhere else, our world changed.
Life may be complicated, but God’s solution to life’s complications is to send us a baby who is unlike any other baby who has ever been born: God himself in human form, taking on our flesh, experiencing life from our perspective, so that we are no longer alone. He is forever Emmanuel, God with us, And in his company we can cope with whatever life hands us. Because he shares in our humanity, we can experience His divinity forever.
And how should I respond? The same way that the shepherds and wise men responded. On my knees, in humble worship and praise. I respond with a surrendered life to my God who lives with us. I respond with thankfulness that I worship a God who loves and longs for me to the extent of living in my world, and in my brokeness, so I could be with Him forever. A thankfulness because I have a God who knows sin and was tempted in the same way I am each day, yet was without sin so He could bridge the gap between me and Himself. And because of that bridged gap, I can respond in obedience to His call on my life and to His Word. I am thankful for this day that both hope and love were born. And I worship Him because this was His plan all along.
"1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." (John 1:1-5, 14)
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