Focal passage: Luke 2:4-20
When you consider Christmas, what are some things that come to mind? Do you think of traditions, favorite movies or carols? Do you anticipate the gathering of family members?
The images of ice skaters in Central Park, a full day in pajamas or a fresh Colorado snowfall all come to my mind. I think of decorating cookies with my sisters or surfing the snow in an inner tube with my brother.
The season seems magical, and it is.
Jesus, the Son of God, was born into our broken world. Each sentence in Luke 2:4-7 is the fulfillment of a prophecy made about Jesus, showing that He was part of God’s plan and timing. Galatians 4:4-5 supports this: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Luke 2:8-11 reminds us that Christmas is not only a celebration of the birth of God’s Son, but of a Savior destined to be the perfect, living sacrifice in atonement for our sins. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12).
Jesus ultimately came to set us free from the bondage of sin and to give us hope that one day we will join Him for an eternity of celebration.
We also see that the shepherds who heard about Jesus that night not only went to Him, but “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17). We, too, can make Jesus the focus of Christmas. May we not grow too busy or too familiar with this season that we forget to proclaim Christ’s birth as the beginning of the most magical story in history.