Nov 25 - I Love Christmas!

As I was setting up the blog getting ready for Advent, I asked for a sample devotion that I could post as a test.  Bambi provided the following post, and it is so good that I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to read it.  

I Love Christmas!

Friday, November 25, 2022

by Bambi Wheeler

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20 

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,

    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:9-14

It’s no secret that I love Christmas. I’m the person that begins decorating in early November (sorry, Thanksgiving), and I don’t really consider Christmas music “seasonal.” I love plotting the perfect gifts, supporting our local electric co-op by having all the lights glowing 24 hours a day, and my mom and I usually try to schedule a short getaway to a city that does Christmas well just to get the full-on ambiance that the cities have to offer. Seeing homes glowing on my evening drive home helps make the shorter days more palatable, and seeing others filled with the hope and joy the Christmas Season brings is so incredibly encouraging. I honestly just love all the things.

But as much as I enjoy the “spirit” of Christmas, that’s not why I actually love Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of an event that impacted eternity; it’s a celebration of the birth of our Savior. And how do we know this? How do we KNOW that Jesus is truly the Messiah? Well, his birth alone fulfilled countless prophecies. Gotta be born of a virgin? Done. Descendant of David? Check. A Nazarene born in Bethlehem, but called from Egypt? Somehow, yes. The chances of one person being able to fulfill the number of prophecies Jesus’ birth alone fulfilled, not to mention those fulfilled by His life, death, and resurrection, are almost zero. Yet…it happened, just as we were promised by the Old Testament prophets. And that bit of knowledge brings me an incredible peace.

And while the circumstances of Jesus’ birth weren’t nearly as peaceful as they sound in the beautiful Christmas Carols we sing (born in a cave in a foreign land, headhunters out to kill you, etc.), His birth DID bring us the promise of peace. In Luke 2:14, the angels themselves praised God and declared, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Now, the peace Jesus’ birth brought us might not look like we imagine peace, at least not while we are still on this earth; it doesn’t mean that everyone on earth is suddenly in perfect harmony, that there is no sickness, war, or pain, and that nothing bad will ever happen to us again. But it DOES mean that we have the hope of an eternity that will look exactly like that, and living with that hope gives us a lot more peace while we are here.

So yes, I truly enjoy the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the shiny lights, the beautiful music, and all the Christmas cheer. But what I LOVE about Christmas is the peace I have in knowing that Jesus, the Messiah, loved us enough to come to this earth and offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so that I have the hope of an eternity with Him. 

And THAT is worth celebrating.