Even during the holiday season, so filled with nostalgia, there is no vacation from some of the problems that plague our world. No gift under the tree or twinkling lights can make us forget the wrong we experience.
All the world is a stage - a classic drama performed before our eyes. We aren't watching from the crowd. We are right in the thick of it. But even here, in this grand play of life, came the unlikeliest of characters who made the most surprising of entrances.
We are familiar with the cast of Christmas, perhaps too familiar. The kings from afar, a shepherd boy, and the angels announcing breathtaking news; all were involved. Behind all of these beloved and iconic characters is the shocking truth of Christmas.
The announcement that the angels made to the shepherds, and the reason those kings traveled so far, was the birth of a King. This King, however, was not like any other. The child who was born to Mary and Joseph was none other than God Himself in human form. He joined our broken story to become our Savior.
Immanuel: the name given by the angel at the announcement of Jesus' birth (Matthew 1:23). It means, God with us. This is compassion, the word formed from two Latin words meaning, "to suffer" and "with." This is Jesus. He came and dwelt among us, which means He came to suffer with us. God could have come in any way He wanted, yet He chose to make His entrance by being born in a small village to poor parents and laid in a place where humble animals eat.
God is not distant or removed from our mess. He came so close that He joined our story to redeem it and make it beautiful again. This is the hope of the Christmas message.
The Christmas Story doesn’t stop at Jesus’ birth. He was
faithful to fulfil the promise of long ago by coming as a child, and He
continues to be faithful. His suffering with us brings great comfort. He is a
friend to the brokenhearted.
He came to guide us through our hurt, love us
through our pain, weep with us in our sorrow. He suffered so we may receive
healing, peace, joy, and much more in the midst of our grief. Jesus joined our
story so that He could change the script. He is writing an entirely new one.
This is what the season of Advent is all about – a time of
remembering His coming through the Christmas story and the hope He gives us.
This holiday season experience the peace, love, and comfort that Christ brings.
Join in with the shepherds and the wise men around the manger and become a part of a new story!