Christmas. The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The climactic appearance in history of the long-awaited redeemer, come as a babe in a manger. The historic moment when the “fullness of time” arrives as the light of men that forever vanquishes darkness. The historical moment when the prophetic voice from the past is fulfilled in Isaiah’s prophecy: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isa. 9:2).
Imagine the scene in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. It was a night that began as any other night before it, yet it became the night of all nights when the brilliant star over Bethlehem revealed that something very spectacular had transpired. God, with the magnificent brilliance of one star, announces to the world, “Behold, this day in the city of David a Savior is born, who is Christ the Lord, and His name is called Immanuel, God with us.”
“Immanuel, God with us.” The moment when light enters the world. The moment when God incarnate shines in the darkness. The moment when the despairing story of mankind’s sin and brokenness is forever changed by the Savior’s triumphant entrance into the world. The moment of all moments when the first cry of a baby born in Bethlehem breaks the sound barrier that forever alters the course of history.
What darkness are you experiencing this Christmas season? What is the big IT in your life that burdens you? IT is many things for many people: adversity, bondage, despair, loneliness, loss, worry, fear. The list is endless. Whatever darkness IT is, whatever hold IT has over you, Jesus came to overcome IT. He was born for IT, and He died for IT. Jesus came into the world for us and for our salvation. The babe in a manger two thousand years ago came as the Light of Night into a darkened world to save us from our sins and forever vanquish darkness. The first cry of the baby born in Bethlehem announces in grand declaration the “good news of great joy that will be for all people.”
As we celebrate this Christmas the miracle of Christ’s birth, let us remember in awe and wonder and gratitude the magnificence of God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate the baby who came and lived and died for us, let us live in the light of His presence and rejoice with great joy that darkness has no hold on us!
In God’s divine love,
Peggy
Divine Companionship: God's Presence in a Broken World 