areliablefaith

I must admit during the Christmas season it is sometimes easy to become so busy with the hustle and bustle that I can lose track of the real reason we even celebrate… the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. I don’t mean it doesn’t cognitively come to mind, but I mean do I really reflect on this amazing fact long enough for it to do the work in me that I know it is supposed to do. Celebrations in general and Christmas / Easter especially, are times to rejoice and recognize the good things that have happened. In the case of Christmas we get to visit anew the Creator of the World who existed eternally and outside of what He had created condescending to enter His creation as a baby… a helpless, needy baby.

The circumstances of Jesus’ birth were crude in the extreme. A woman in labor is not a pleasurable time. And entering a strange town late at night that is vastly overcrowded is intimidating even if you have hotel reservations, which Joseph and Mary did not. But to come to the time of delivery inside a barn almost comes across as cruel. But God in His love and wisdom chose this means to begin an entirely new thing… our eternal redemption through the sacrifice and work of His beloved Son.

This past weekend has been a memorable one for us. Our youngest daughter graduated from college with distinction and our youngest son’s soccer team won a state championship with Sam contributing in fine fashion. All four of our children and most of our extended family joined us for parts of the weekend making this a special time of reunion and celebration. As I have been basking in the afterglow of these great experiences, I am humbled to think of what our Heavenly Father has done for us. These recent blessings make me think of past blessings AND past difficulties the Lord has brought us through.

Which in turn makes me think – do I really get Christmas. My devotion this morning was from Psalm 34. Verse 7 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” God has given us infinitely more than we can ask or imagine – life, love, a family of believers, wisdom, beautiful vistas, enjoyable games, good friends, great books, wonderful meals.  The list of fine things that we should pause and be thankful for may be slightly different for each person, but we all have much to celebrate.  In the final analysis though these are all modest gifts from our Heavenly Father in comparison to the gift of a vibrant, living relationship with Him through His Son. Jesus entered this world in a time and place to become one of us and to do what we could not do – pay the penalty for sin. In so doing He made us His brothers and sisters… His family in the truest and most complete sense of the word. And that entering – the incarnation began some 2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem just as the prophets from hundreds of years earlier had said it would. Wow!

That’s all I have today. Feel free to join me as I catch up with the shepherds, and wise men, and angels and all God’s creation in celebrating the Saviour’s birth!