Advent Day Twenty-Five

Christmas is a really good thing - a great thing!  It’s a celebration of the best gift we’ve ever received.  And it’s an opportunity for us to pass this gift on to others.  When we were given the gift of Jesus, everything changed.  The Apostle Paul spoke about this when he said, “Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we’re in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God’s plan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever!” (Gal. 1:3-5 Message) 

Everything changed the moment Jesus entered this world as a baby that Christmas morning so long ago.  But I often wonder if we truly believe this.  When we sing, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come!” - do we really mean it?  Are we really experiencing Joy in our own lives? 

Our world is weary of so many things that try to steal our joy.  We are weary of sickness, weary of conflict, weary of relationships that are holding on by a thread because our differences have divided us, and we are weary of the internal tension that for so many seems to be a present and everyday reality.   Yet while we might be living in what seems to be a constant state of our weariness, there is good news!! Jesus has come, and because He came, everything in your life can be changed in an instant.  The hopelessness, the pain, the loneliness, and the bondage of sin can be changed in an instant when Jesus becomes a reality in your life. 

How can we be sure of this? Because God knows how to gift good gifts to us! Romans 8:31-32 says this: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”  This is a promise we can cling tightly to.  You matter so much to God that He did not even spare His own Son for you.  Let that sink in for just a minute.  You matter so much to God that He did not even spare His own Son for you!  He pulled out all the stops for you and gave extravagantly and freely to you the gift of His Son Jesus, the greatest gift to ever be given.  Just the mention of Jesus' name has the power to heal, save, and free us from the bondage of sin.  Just the mention of Jesus’ name causes the demons to tremble and Satan to flee.  Just the mention of Jesus’ name causes kings to bow and servants to rejoice in His great love.  

Jesus changes everything.  Jesus is Emmanuel.  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:23)  God’s presence with us came to this world in human form and chose to live and dwell among us.  Through His Son, Jesus, God became flesh as He hand-delivered Himself to us so that we could be free from hopelessness and the darkness of this world.  And this is why a weary world rejoices.