Gift & Re-Gift
Its Christmas!! The busiest time of year. The most wonderful time of the year. For some, the loneliest time of the years. The most joyful time of the year. Or possibly the saddest time of the year. The most celebrated time of the year -by believer & unbeliever alike. Our personal life experiences have shaped our perception of this day. So while we acknowledge and understand the various feelings one may experience on this day; we also direct our heart’s attention to what’s true of it.
From gift shopping, to decorating, to constructing the Christmas dinner menu; we often become so busy with the duties of this day, that it is easy to get distracted from its’ simplicity. We forget that it in fact is not about material gifts, food, or even a pagan Santa who reaps the credit of good gifts that really come from above. Life be life’n and year after year, we hear the same lovely Christmas story centered around the birth of our Savior; Jesus. Only after a while, if we’re not careful, this beautiful story can become one that we get so familiar with; it loses impact on our hearts.
See, we are fortunate because we were born during a time when Jesus already existed. But there was a time when Jesus had not yet been placed on earth as Savior. There was a time when distance was placed between us and God. When intimacy with Him could only be accessed by chosen individuals. There was a time when there was actually enmity and hostility between us and God, with no Jesus to intervene; only animal sacrifices to erase our sins. The Jews knew that life all too well. They went through the constant cycle of being God’s people, rebelling against Him, being oppressed, calling out for His help, eventually being rescued and repeat. Until one day, God goes silent. For 400 years. Now, instead of God leading them by His prophets, signs and wonders; they’re left to fend for themselves. They did however, have the word of God which spoke of the coming Savior of the world. One Who would rescue once and for all. Only, this prophecy did not come into fulfillment until 700 years later. Whew chile!
Put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites and imagine waiting 700 years for the Promise that would change your life. Imagine God going silent toward the people He claimed as his own for 400 of those 700 years. Weary, discouraged, forgotten, confused, grieved, maybe hopeful, possibly hopeless. I’m sure God’s people felt this way plus more! But oh imagine the exuberance that ignited inside of them when God’s angel finally delivered the words, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today!” (Luke 2:10b-11a). Can you imagine the slew of emotions that came over them as they realized that their feelings were not facts. Once they realized that God is indeed a promise keeper. That He hadn’t left them or forgotten them despite the painful circumstances they found themselves in for the unimaginable amount of years. Circumstances that I’d imagine after a while, they accepted as just their way of life as hope faded. With no self-help books, no encouraging Instagram reels, no completed Bible and a silent God; I often wonder what holding on looked like, for them.
Whether you find yourself relating to the Jews in their hard season, prior to Jesus’s birth or whether you share the exuberance they experienced when Jesus, the Messiah was born; the truth is that He came to be Immanuel to all. Immanuel- “God with us”! He is with those who feel lonely, forgotten, grieved and overwhelmed. And He is also with those who encounter sentiments of joy, excitement and gratitude. And that is the beauty of His coming. That He came to be a child born, a Son given and called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)” to all people who’d accept Him. No matter how we currently feel! It was apart of God’s redemptive plan all along. The planned that stemmed from a deep, sacrificial love and resulted in the gift of His only Son. From God to us.
I pray your heart is comforted in some way on this day, but even if not; I am here to relay that you are not alone. I am here to reignite your diminishing hope with truth. You see because we aren’t that different from the Israelites. As they awaited salvation, an answer to their problems, hope, and the promise God had given them; we also await. Prayerfully, we are waiting with great hope and expectation. For what you might ask? For Jesus’s return!! That is our hope! Our promise being even greater than those who came before us.
Revelation 21:3b-5a describes it like this, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5And the One sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”
There will be gates of pearls, streets of gold, no need for the sun or moon because the glory of God will illuminate the city!! (Rev. 21:21-23).. Our Jesus, our Savior, Immanuel; He came down from this glory described in Revelation, to be born on earth and live lowly & humbly. He was rejected by His own, those He came from glory to save. He suffered a horrific death, yet rose again to defeat sin & death. He did the MOST, so that we could experience all the permanent goodness described in the book of Revelation. This is the hope and future God’s people can cling to today. However, we would not have this hope if not for His birth!! So be encouraged my sister. His return is near, along with the personal promises God has given you. And it is greater than anything we could ever dream or imagine!
We have so much to celebrate today that this devotional does not even scratch the surface. However, it is my prayer that aside from the earthly blessings which we can see; we’d make room to celebrate the eternal blessing of it all. That our hearts would be filled with reassurance, comfort, peace, love and joy because of the spiritual blessings that we cannot see! My good sis, Jesus is our hope. In this crazy world, He is our only hope. After this crazy world, He is our hope. In this busy, happy, sad, joyous, lonely, relaxing, overwhelming combination of a season, He is worth celebrating. So eat, drink, fellowship, be merry. But also take time out to give thanks be grateful, expectant and heartened… Because Jesus truly is the reason for the season!!
Lets pray:
Immanuel, thank You for being God with us! I pray that You’d personally be that for Your daughters today. That You’d draw near to both the brokenhearted and the full hearted alike. Help us to trace Your great love for us on today. Help us to extend that love to those around us, including the difficult people. As we celebrate this day, help us to be aware of its’ true importance. Forgive us for sometimes being distracted from the main thing, that is Jesus! I ask that You’d comfort our hearts and reignite our hope. Grant us Your peace, love and joy as we seek to honor You for the beautiful, redemptive birth of Jesus. Great are You Lord.
In Jesus’s loving name, amen.
