“I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
“Hark the Herald Angels sing, ‘Glory to the newborn King!'” Today is a day of great triumph. It is the culmination of a hope that had been nursed for so long among God’s people. For generations, they had awaited the birth of the Savior that had been promised to them. The wait was long and hard. They found themselves in exile and captivity. They found themselves crushed and defeated. But they always hoped that God would fulfill His promise to them.
God is, indeed, a keeper of promises. Of that we never have to worry. The promise of a savior was fulfilled by the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet the promise of redemption would not be fulfilled until Jesus would rise from the dead, destroying death and restoring life.
The birth of a child filled the earth with great rejoicing. Even the heavens were filled with angels singing God’s praises. Yet, this birth took place in a manner and locale unexpected. Who would’ve thought that the Lord of all would be born in such stark and impoverished conditions. Should not a King be born in a palace?
Jesus’ birth began a life of threat as well. Herod wanted the child killed because he saw the birth of Jesus as an obstacle to his reign. People would threaten the life of Jesus for years until, ultimately, they had their way and nailed Him to a cross. Yet it was for that moment that Jesus was born.
We celebrate today the birth of a Savior and remind ourselves that our Savior will come again in all of His glory. In order to prepare ourselves for that moment, we need to keep our faith in the Lord strong and to share that faith with others because God wants us to bring others with us to the Kingdom. Share the faith. Celebrate the faith. Live the faith. That would be the best birthday present you could give to the Christ-Child today.
FAITH ACTION: If you gather with family or friends today, do your best to spend some time sharing your faith and singing some Christmas songs in order to keep the spirit of Christmas vibrant and alive.