The other day, I was thinking about the various places that my husband and I have celebrated Christmas. We were a blended family. Through most of our marriage, our children were adults who lived quite a distance away, so we often celebrated on our own. One year, we took a Caribbean cruise. The ship was huge; we celebrated with over 4,000 people from a variety of countries. In other years, we skied in Yosemite National Park and took recreational vehicle (RV) trips to other states. In 1988, we built a home in the foothills of central California, USA. Just as we sat down to dinner with friends on that first Christmas Eve, a gentle snow started falling — it felt like God's blessing on our new home!

Attending Christmas Eve services helps me to focus on the meaning of Christmas. The best one in recent years was Christmas Eve, 2022, when my whole family, including some who don't regularly attend church, joined me for the Christmas Eve service at my church.

Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (KJV)

Just reading those words brings to mind the powerful music of the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah. Every time I read Isaiah 53, the songs resound in my mind. One source called the music "heart-stopping and gobsmackingly dramatic", which absolutely fits! Listening to it is an enjoyable way that I celebrate Christmas. I hope that the multitude of people who also listen to it each year understand that it's not just a grand musical composition: it's all about the person of Christ and His identity as God incarnate — the Messiah.

Galatians 4:4-5 – But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (KJV)

But the traditions and celebrations that we have with family and friends, enjoyable as they may be, are nothing if we don't understand — and accept — the incredible gift that God gave us when He sent Jesus to earth in the form of a tiny baby. The angel said to Joseph, "You shall call His name Jesus, for he will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21b NKJV) He laid aside his heavenly glory to take on a human nature, knowing that His destiny was to die on the cross for our sins so that we might live with Him forever and be adopted into His family.

What else can we say, but "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV)

Prayer: Father, this year, as we celebrate Christmas, may we remember that Jesus gave up glory that we can't even begin to understand, to come and live among us in our weary, sinful world, so that someday, we might live with You forever. Praise be to Your name! Amen.

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About the author:

Sharon Cook <craftercook@gmail.com>
Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
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