Christmas: "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"
How could it not be, with all of the beautiful lights, Christmas trees, presents, and the aura of joy and cheer permeating the air.
The reality, though, is that Christmas isn't all that wonderful for a lot of people. The season reminds many of how incredibly lonely they are and accentuates the hurt in their hearts.
A couple breaks up. A marriage ends in divorce. Family members become estranged. A man loses his job. A woman loses her baby. There's a vacant seat at the dining room table, an empty stocking, a hallow place in someone's heart. The possibilities of pain are endless.
How could there be any reason to celebrate a day that heightens one's awareness of his or her dismal state? What can Christmas offer besides a painful reminder of the way things are instead of the way we wish they could be?
But there is one very significant thing Christmas offers; something that can shine light into the darkest corners of our hearts and strengthen our spirits to endure the most trying circumstances. That something, is hope.
This hope comes not from within ourselves, but from a tiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger over 2,000 years ago. His name is Immanuel, which means, "God with us."
Think about that: God. With. Us. Not "God aloof and distant," but here, among us, in us, with us.
Why does that matter? Well, it matters a lot. It means God wanted to be near us, to step down into our world in human form and experience everything we feel: sorrow, loneliness, pain, loss, rejection. He wanted to connect with us, empathize with us, and show us that He really does understand.
He also wanted to show us that this isn't all there is to life. The pain, desperation, and suffering of our world is temporary and indicates that we are broken, but also that we are meant for so much more.
When Jesus was born he didn't enter a heaven-on-earth kind of place, but a war-torn world filled with shattered spirits and splintered hearts. The lyrics to "O Holy Night" capture the essence of His coming and the hope his birth carried:
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Isaiah 9 also offers a picture of the light Christ's entrance would bring:
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned....
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Perhaps this Christmas isn't as wonderful as Christmases past. Perhaps you feel a void and miss someone you love. Maybe joy is hard for you to find this season. But in light of the birth of Christ, we all have something to celebrate: the gift of hope and the promise of peace.
Christ's birth was just God's first step in restoring our hearts and our world. We'd miss the entire point of Christmas if we overlooked the inevitable shadow of the Cross looming over Christ's cradle. My favorite Christmas song summarizes the meaning of this pivotal moment in history: "I celebrate the day that You were born to die, so I could one day pray for You to save my life."
This season, whatever you situation, may you be filled with hope for the things yet to come and sense God's wonderful, awe-inspiring and redeeming love.
Merry Christmas.
How could it not be, with all of the beautiful lights, Christmas trees, presents, and the aura of joy and cheer permeating the air.
The reality, though, is that Christmas isn't all that wonderful for a lot of people. The season reminds many of how incredibly lonely they are and accentuates the hurt in their hearts.
A couple breaks up. A marriage ends in divorce. Family members become estranged. A man loses his job. A woman loses her baby. There's a vacant seat at the dining room table, an empty stocking, a hallow place in someone's heart. The possibilities of pain are endless.
How could there be any reason to celebrate a day that heightens one's awareness of his or her dismal state? What can Christmas offer besides a painful reminder of the way things are instead of the way we wish they could be?
But there is one very significant thing Christmas offers; something that can shine light into the darkest corners of our hearts and strengthen our spirits to endure the most trying circumstances. That something, is hope.
This hope comes not from within ourselves, but from a tiny babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger over 2,000 years ago. His name is Immanuel, which means, "God with us."
Think about that: God. With. Us. Not "God aloof and distant," but here, among us, in us, with us.
Why does that matter? Well, it matters a lot. It means God wanted to be near us, to step down into our world in human form and experience everything we feel: sorrow, loneliness, pain, loss, rejection. He wanted to connect with us, empathize with us, and show us that He really does understand.
He also wanted to show us that this isn't all there is to life. The pain, desperation, and suffering of our world is temporary and indicates that we are broken, but also that we are meant for so much more.
When Jesus was born he didn't enter a heaven-on-earth kind of place, but a war-torn world filled with shattered spirits and splintered hearts. The lyrics to "O Holy Night" capture the essence of His coming and the hope his birth carried:
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Isaiah 9 also offers a picture of the light Christ's entrance would bring:
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned....
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Perhaps this Christmas isn't as wonderful as Christmases past. Perhaps you feel a void and miss someone you love. Maybe joy is hard for you to find this season. But in light of the birth of Christ, we all have something to celebrate: the gift of hope and the promise of peace.
Christ's birth was just God's first step in restoring our hearts and our world. We'd miss the entire point of Christmas if we overlooked the inevitable shadow of the Cross looming over Christ's cradle. My favorite Christmas song summarizes the meaning of this pivotal moment in history: "I celebrate the day that You were born to die, so I could one day pray for You to save my life."
This season, whatever you situation, may you be filled with hope for the things yet to come and sense God's wonderful, awe-inspiring and redeeming love.
Merry Christmas.
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