Merry Christmas!
I love this time of year! There are so many predictable things about Christmas – fruit mince pies, Mariah Carey and Michael Buble being played in every shopping centre, Christmas lights on people’s houses, and so on.
And yet, as predictable as many elements of Christmas are, the first Christmas was anything but predictable:
– The Saviour of the World being born to a young unmarried virgin;
– The promised Messiah being born in a backwoods town called Bethlehem;
– The Angelic announcement of the birth being made to poor shepherds out in the field;
– Jesus being born in a manger.
But it is one of the wonderfully powerful messages of Christmas that it was in the roughness of Christmas that we see Christ’s willingness to live our life in all its mess and endure all that we endure.
Ultimately, in Christmas we see a foreshadow of what Christ would ultimately do on the Cross when He took on our sin and died our death, and then rose again to give us life.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman.” (Galatians 4:4a)
In amongst all the glitz and fun of Christmas, my prayer for all of us is that we would take time to see the real message of Christmas – that God took on human flesh and dwelt with us, to be our Saviour and Lord.
Come and celebrate that message with one of the Churches in our area this Christmas. Our Church will celebrate Christmas with services at 9:00am on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’d love to see you there.
On behalf of my family and Church, may God bless you and your family this Christmas!
