Christmas is just around the corner, and I had to slow myself down today to get some perspective! Christmas will feel very different for so many this year. It is only the 2nd time in 37 years I won’t spend the typical Christmas with my Husband, Dad, Mom, and my brother. We won’t have our Christmas dinner, sit around the tree to open presents, or share hugs. I’ll be honest; the isolation from people I love is extremely depressing to me.
It’s so easy to feel defeated right now. But have you ever thought about what the world looked like when Jesus was born?
It is estimated to have been 400 hundred years between Malachi, the last Jewish prophet, and the birth of Jesus. Rome was in control, and soldiers walked the streets of Jerusalem. Riots, oppression, and darkness ruled Israel. The nation was fractured into four different groups. Pharisees followed their traditions; Sadducees opposed the Pharisees and their legalism. Essenes devoted their selves to prayer, and Zealots used violence to fight the Roman control. The world was in spiritual darkness.
And then…
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11
A baby was born to bring light to the world, but friends… the world didn’t know that at the time.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world, . . . yet the world did not know him.
John 1:9
We celebrate the birth of Jesus because we know how the story goes. Jesus came into the darkness not only to give us hope but to defeat darkness and sin through his death and resurrection. He was born to die… for us.
There is also a middle to this Christmas story. We focus so much on His birth and the resurrection; we forget that He lived through oppression, false accusations, temptation, rejection, and suffering. But here’s the catch…he CONQUERED it all! AND He did it for you and me, the just for the unjust…
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit…
1 Peter 3:18
Yes, times are hard right now… physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But we have hope through our Savior, Christ the Lord! As you celebrate Christmas, remember the real Christmas magic…the love of God for you and me!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
Have you ever noticed God didn’t just “love the world”?? He “so loved the world.” We are not defeated. This Christmas, even though it might be different, find a way to be a light in the darkness. Lean into God’s love and share that love with others.
My family might not be sitting around the tree together this year, but my brother, husband, and I will be making a 4-hour round-trip drive to wish my parents a Merry Christmas outside their home. We will only get to see them for a brief moment, and we won’t be able to hug them, but we will be able to see their smiles and tell them we love them. Christmas may look different in 2020, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find new ways to share the Christmas Magic, God’s love!
Merry Christmas my friends,
Shelly
SassyandOutdoors.com
