A Christmas Day Celebration
Today we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, the King! According to the Advent calendar, a lot of churches and church gatherings will light the Christ candle today, signifying the coming of Jesus Christ. In order to truly understand how special a day this is, we need to take on some context.
Since the fall of man, God knew what needed to happen to claim redemption for His creation. We know this because throughout the Bible, there are clues and foreshadowings of the coming of a Savior. For hundreds of years, the Isrealites had anticipated a coming king that would relieve their oppression and restore a once beautiful kingdom that flourished and thrived on relationship with the one true God. Fast forward to Luke chapter two when Jesus was born in a land that was being ruled by the Romans. When I think about this context, I imagine a consistent and massive build-up of tension, anxiety, and chaos all throughout the history of the world until the birth of Jesus on that quiet night 2,000 years ago, then a deep, stabilizing inhale accompanied with a sigh of relief from a groaning world. The foreshadowed King had finally come, but not in the way that anybody expected. Even though it was unexpected here on earth, it was greatly anticipated in heaven.
Read: Luke 2:8-14
In Luke 2 verses 8-14, we see the product of anticipation finally coming to fruition through the birth of Jesus. An angel appears to the shepherds proclaiming the good news of King Jesus; and in verse 13, it says a multitude, or a large number, of angels appear and begin to sing praise to God because of the gift that Jesus was to all the earth, a massive eruption of worship and thanksgiving for this holy gift, wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a feeding trough. It was a celebration for the anticipated Heavenly King, leaving His throne and coming to earth to be a part of His broken creation.
On Christmas Day, and every day for that matter, we have the opportunity to join in with heaven and celebrate the birth of Jesus! In every gift that we give, in every gathering that we attend, let’s celebrate like heaven does by giving Him glory and honor in everything that we do simply because Jesus didn’t have to leave His throne, but He did anyway. And I’m thankful for that.
ACTIVATION: Christmas isn’t the same for everybody. Some celebrate, while others mourn. If you’re in a celebrating season, let’s spend the day being present, within the context of the Creator coming to be a part of His creation, by being thankful. If you’re in a mourning season, find trust in knowing that just like Jesus came to earth to be with His creation, He is with you in your mourning.
Since the fall of man, God knew what needed to happen to claim redemption for His creation. We know this because throughout the Bible, there are clues and foreshadowings of the coming of a Savior. For hundreds of years, the Isrealites had anticipated a coming king that would relieve their oppression and restore a once beautiful kingdom that flourished and thrived on relationship with the one true God. Fast forward to Luke chapter two when Jesus was born in a land that was being ruled by the Romans. When I think about this context, I imagine a consistent and massive build-up of tension, anxiety, and chaos all throughout the history of the world until the birth of Jesus on that quiet night 2,000 years ago, then a deep, stabilizing inhale accompanied with a sigh of relief from a groaning world. The foreshadowed King had finally come, but not in the way that anybody expected. Even though it was unexpected here on earth, it was greatly anticipated in heaven.
Read: Luke 2:8-14
In Luke 2 verses 8-14, we see the product of anticipation finally coming to fruition through the birth of Jesus. An angel appears to the shepherds proclaiming the good news of King Jesus; and in verse 13, it says a multitude, or a large number, of angels appear and begin to sing praise to God because of the gift that Jesus was to all the earth, a massive eruption of worship and thanksgiving for this holy gift, wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a feeding trough. It was a celebration for the anticipated Heavenly King, leaving His throne and coming to earth to be a part of His broken creation.
On Christmas Day, and every day for that matter, we have the opportunity to join in with heaven and celebrate the birth of Jesus! In every gift that we give, in every gathering that we attend, let’s celebrate like heaven does by giving Him glory and honor in everything that we do simply because Jesus didn’t have to leave His throne, but He did anyway. And I’m thankful for that.
ACTIVATION: Christmas isn’t the same for everybody. Some celebrate, while others mourn. If you’re in a celebrating season, let’s spend the day being present, within the context of the Creator coming to be a part of His creation, by being thankful. If you’re in a mourning season, find trust in knowing that just like Jesus came to earth to be with His creation, He is with you in your mourning.
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