As everyone knows, one of the two most important events in the Christian year is Christmas, the day we celebrate the coming of Immanuel, “God with us!”  However, do we truly understand the significance of what it means that God is with us?  I think about Paul’s words in Philippians:

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It is important as we enter into Advent to understand that Jesus Christ sacrificed something pretty significant by coming to us in human form.  Imagine having money and wealth and everything you could possibly want in life and then just turning away from it, not because you were unhappy, but because you were asked to.  For many folks, we aspire to have more than what we have today, so it is a lot easier thinking to ourselves of getting it, then of getting it and than turning away from it.  But in Jesus’ Incarnation and his birth in Bethlehem, God took our form, our humanity, so that he could begin his journey to Calvary and Golgotha.  His birth was the first step on a path that would seemingly end on the cross with his death, but mercifully for us, resume beyond the cross and into God’s very presence.  We rejoice that God so love the world that He did give us His one and only Son, to take that journey so that we could also be in relationship with Him.

Therefore, during this Advent season, let us not just see Jesus as the baby in the manager, but let us transpose on that scene two more.  The first is the crucified Jesus and the second is the victorious Christ!  In both regards, we will be able to appreciate Jesus both as a baby that comes to take our sins upon himself, obeying God’s Will, as well as the one would conquers sin and death.  In this way, when we celebrate Christmas, we can already begin looking forward to Easter.  May this be a blessed Christmas season for each and every one of you. 

In the Love of Christ, Pastor Bob