Three Things To Remember This Christmas

Love it or hate it, Christmas is upon us. And I, for one, love it! 

It's not the festivals or decorations or food that I necessarily love, but it's the gift-giving. Specifically, the gift of God's presence. 

God is, of course, always present with us. There is no place on Earth that is completely devoid of Him. Yet it is this time of year that reminds us of the mind-blowing fact that Jesus Christ, God with skin on, actually visited the Earth over two thousand years ago. The Light of the world "stepped down into darkness". The All Powerful Creator emptied Himself to become one of us, a weak and fragile human.

Christmas reminds us that God gave us His presence even after we fled away from it through sin and rebellion. 

This is why I love Christmas. It can be easy to forget throughout the year about the good news that God sent His Son into the world to taste death for everyone, so that all who might believe in Him can live forever. Without Christmas, without Jesus' birth, we would be forever separated from God's presence. 

Granted, Jesus may never have been born exactly on December 25th. But that's beside the point. We have to celebrate His birthday on some day. Christmas is an amazing celebration of God's presence among men.

Christmas reminds us that God was faithful to send His Son after hundreds of years of promises, and that He will be faithful to send His Son again.

When we remind ourselves of Jesus' first coming, it necessarily forces us to remember the fact that He promises to return a second time. We long for the day when Jesus returns to make this world a better place. 

Christmas reminds us that God is still with us.

I love the birth narratives of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist in the Gospel of Luke. Luke records how both mothers were filled with the Holy Spirit during their pregnancies. Not only did Mary have the body of God's Son inside of her, she had the Spirit of the living God as well! 

For all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today, the Spirit of God gives His presence. We may not be able to physically see or hear God, but He can open the eyes of our heart and give us ears to hear of all the ways He is working in our lives. 

This Christmas, I hope that you will feel God's presence in your life. May you know that He is always with you and will never leave or forsake you. 

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us"). Matthew 1:23 |

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