Merry Christmas!!
It’s the time of year that our minds are drawn to think about family and friends along with favour and fortune. We consider how will Christmas be merry. I wonder though, will Jesus find this Christmas to be merry?
God had a goal in the first celebration—inclusion and incarnation. We read of this in John’s Gospel:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:12-14, NKJV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:12-14, NKJV)
God desires that men and women, boys and girls, be included in His family. This is possible only though Jesus. It’s incorrect to think of all mankind as the children of God. The children of God are those who have been born again by the will of God and the Spirit of God through belief in Jesus Christ and His complete work of grace. (Exception is shown in the Bible to those not yet of sufficient maturity to be held accountable; but this pondering will not be covering that.) So, Christmas is about family: being or becoming included in God’s family.
Christmas is also about incarnation. This does not mean we all become white on the inside. (in-carnation … coffee whitener … ok, punny.) The word refers to something coming in the flesh. In this case, the very Word of God, full of grace and truth, became flesh. Paul writes that we are also to be incarnations of God’s words to man:
Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it. (2 Corinthians 3:3, The Message)
When we are living words of Christ, there is great joy in it. Great joy for us who are experiencing the very life of God being lived in us (Gal. 2:20). We see Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27) However, for Jesus it brings Him great joy in seeing the children of God being who they were created to be.
As we enjoy this Christmas season, let’s consider not only how we can enoy it, but also how God can have a Merry Christmas!
Celebrating Christmas with you and God,
Pastor Merril
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