It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas means different things to different folks. We don’t have many white Christmases where I live. Stores have been stocking shelves for Christmas since the end of summer it seems and we still had temperatures in the nineties. Church nativities started popping up around Thanksgiving and yard scenes are lit with everything from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas to old Saint Nick. Across the street from my daughter’s house, I saw an angular iridescent snowman and down the street was a gingerbread village.
Several nativity sets find prominent places in my home during Christmas. Metal silhouettes backed by red burlap ribbon line the mantle, plain carved wooden figurines are featured by a window in the dining room and the musical toddler friendly version resides under the balance board bridge in the middle of the living room. You’ll find small handmade clay sets fashioned by each of my children in the bedrooms and even a layered paper framed manger scene, a gift from a dear friend, in one bathroom and a luminary nativity in another.
Our Christmas Eve gathering will include a family reading of Luke two followed by a scavenger hunt for baby Jesus. Though the mamas primarily make the plans, we ask the dads to take the lead for the fun. We want more than anything for our children and now grandchildren to know that Jesus is the reason we gather, the reason we celebrate, the reason we live and love, our reason for everything!
“At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home.
He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
She gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”
Luke 2:1, 3-7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.2.7.NLT
Heaven held its breath for four hundred years. No God Word. No prophetic utterance.
Silence.
*”The world cried out so desperately and a baby boy was Your reply.
Yes!
Your reply was a baby boy.
Alleluia!”
“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.
No one has ever seen God.
But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart.
He has revealed God to us.”
John 1:14, 18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.1.14-18.NLT
Was the world without a testimony during those years tucked in between our Old and New Testaments in the Bible?
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.”
Psalms 19:1-4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.19.1-4.NLT
Israel’s history passed down from generation to generation contained more than enough of truth, judgement, and grace to foster faith. The writings of Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets all testified to Messiah. (Luke 24:27) Genesis foretold a Savior who would overpower our greatest enemy.
““And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.” [Gal 4:4]”
Genesis 3:15 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/gen.3.15.AMP
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Galatians 4:4-7 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/gal.4.4-7.NKJV
Jesus came into a waiting world as an infant. A baby boy who would grow up for all the world like any other son, save one thing. He was without sin. All the power and majesty of the Godhead entrusted Himself to the care of a young virgin, a first time mother. The learning curve is steepest with a firstborn. I knew nothing at all in the world about nurturing life until we suddenly held our first tiny precious boy and felt the weight of a soul entrusted to our care. Surely Mary was filled with God’s spirit during her earthly charge in the same way that Bezalel and Oholiab were given great wisdom, ability, and expertise as master craftsmen to construct the tabernacle in the wilderness after the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain. (Exodus 31)
For thirty years, Jesus lived in relative obscurity, His true identity known only to His mother and father and possibly John, by way of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Gabriel had made it clear to both Mary and Joseph that this child was to be called the Son of God. He was destined to be King and in fact, His throne was secure for all time and eternity, but He was not the ruler His people expected and many rejected Him.
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.1.12.NLT
We who believe are waiting for Him still. Christmas is a time of joyous celebration. We remember His birth by reading Luke chapter two, while with Mary, treasuring all of the stories in the gospel accounts in our hearts. We worship God fully revealed in Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate. He is the reason we give gifts. He gave His life for us and He lives to intercede for us.
*”Endless hope…
Relentless joy…
Started with a baby boy!”
I talked with my daughter last week while her firstborn son was sick with a stomach bug. Their tree was up and her boys were already practicing for their church’s kid’s Christmas program. She had most of her gifts bought and some wrapped and hidden away so it surprised me when she told me it really didn’t feel very much like Christmas yet to her. I lovingly reminded her that Christmas is what we make it. As mamas, we have the unique privilege of stewarding the holidays within our homes and families. She had only just outdone herself during Thanksgiving. When her husband had been assigned call for the holiday, their little family of four had shared the day alone together. Pictures she shared throughout the day made me know she was redeeming the time. Christmas in their home will be no different.
Maybe it doesn’t exactly feel like Christmas to you either this year. I know things have changed dramatically for us over the past decade. Our celebrations continue to look different each year, but One thing remains the same. Jesus is the reason we gather. His eternal kingdom motivates our giving and our scheduled activities. Locations change. People in attendance vary. If I think too long or too hard about it, I may be tempted to despair. So much is different. Some things will never be the same.
Breathe.
God’s answer to your heart’s most desperate cry is still His baby boy. When you want answers that never come, remember, Jesus is coming again and He is making all things new. If you experience the pain of grief and loss anew with each holiday, remember, He is guarding your heart and mind. As you trust in Him, you will experience God’s peace which surpasses anything we can understand. If you’re just surviving, remember, He understands our weaknesses, for He faced all the same testing we do, yet He did not sin. So come boldly to the throne of our gracious God and receive mercy. Find grace to help when you need it most.
“Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
Luke 2:10-20 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.2.10-20.NKJV
*Baby Boy ~For King and Country https://youtu.be/6CxFb4J-DHg?si=xWT2wKZ_JMdM9eiV
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