As we enter into the month of December, the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, the family has gone home, the kids are back to school, and if they haven’t already, the Christmas decorations have come out. This season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is often referred to as the Advent season. But why? What does that mean?
The term “advent” is defined as: The coming or arrival of something or someone that is important or worthy of note. Therefore, the Advent season is the time in which we look forward to celebrating the coming of Christ in flesh at his birth. Though we do not celebrate this time as the Catholic church (where the formal holiday originated) does, nevertheless it is right and proper to look forward in anticipation to this time of celebration. It is a good thing to stop and reflect and remember what it is we celebrate at Christmas and why it is important.
As sinners from birth, we have no hope of ever earning God’s favor or his forgiveness. We are separated from him by our sin nature and nothing we do can change that. Jesus, the son of God, humbled himself by coming to earth as a man to live the perfect life we could never live and die the death our sin deserved that we might be justified before God. His coming to the earth as a baby in Bethlehem marks the beginning of his road to the cross, and only through his life, death, and resurrection do we have the hope of eternal life today. As God speaks through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45:22, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” God made for us this way of salvation through his son Jesus. We celebrate Jesus’ birth because he is our only hope.
This is to be a time of rejoicing, not because of gifts and glitter and festivities, but because of the salvation God worked on our behalf through Jesus. When the angel visits the shepherds in Luke 2:10 he says to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” The good news of great joy was that their long awaited savior had come! Likewise, Jesus is still the only savior, our only hope, and if we are in Christ, then this time is a time of great joy in remembering what the birth of Christ means for us eternally and looking forward to what is to come. It is a reminder that our savior has come…and will come again!
We have joy also in remembering that the redemption secured by Jesus on our behalf has satisfied our sin debt and now we experience peace with God. Paul says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” As sinners, we were born alienated from God. We were enemies of God, but by his grace he made a way for us to have a relationship with him. Through Jesus, he satisfied the debts of all who would come to him in faith and trust in his work on their behalf. Christmas is a reminder that if we are in Christ, we have peace with God.
Why did God do this? Out of his love. In John 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus came as a baby in a manger and through his life, death, and resurrection made a way for sinful humanity to be redeemed because God so loved the world. We celebrate Christmas today because God loved us when we were unlovable.
Let us enjoy this holiday season, but may we, as Christ’s church, never be distracted from what it is we have to celebrate! God bless you and I look forwarding to celebrating with you each Lord’s Day!
Bro. Adam
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