Though this is a couple days late, I want to wish anyone who reads this blog a Merry Christmas with our family Christmas card.
Christmas is a really important thing to celebrate. I know I take Jesus, and the story of his birth, for granted. I've heard stories about Jesus since I was a little kid, and now I tell my kids stories about Jesus. It's easy to forget who he really is.
But I have spent some time over the last couple months reading Colossians as my church has been doing a sermon series on the book. And the verses in our Christmas card challenged the way that I think about Jesus. He's not just a guy who wore sandals and did some nice things for people. That guy walking around in those sandals was there at the beginning of all things, created all things, everything holds together because of him. And these verses say, "In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell." God was pleased to personify himself in Jesus, who began his life in the most humble way, being born in a barn.
The reality of Jesus' humility challenges my pride and my entitlement. I think I deserve so much stuff, status, or respect, when the one who created everything entered the world next to sheep and oxen.
Just as Jesus' life began humbly, it continued that way for a great purpose. "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:10-12
Ultimately, this is the Christmas message—not just that God came to earth as a baby, but the purpose behind his birth, life, and death. He loves us and wants to give us an opportunity to know him in this life, and then spend eternity with him.
As we said in our Christmas card, may the wonder of God-in-flesh be in your heart this holiday. Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.
No comments:
Post a Comment