Christmas 2022 – Family Devotion
Growing up, my older brother and I shared a bedroom. It was close quarters for many years, especially as we grew in size and in need of privacy, but at that point in our youth it worked, at least most of the time. On Christmas Morning in 1990, the seven year old version of myself was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by my brother, Jason, convincing me that Santa had come and that we should sneak down the hallway into the living room to see what kind of goods the “Big Guy” had left behind for us. Mind you, our parents’ room was just across the hall from ours, and they would often sleep with the door open. Furthermore, Santa never wrapped presents at our house, it was the norm to walk into the living room to a display of gifts near the tree or arranged neatly on the couch. But on this night, somehow we made it into the living room, and there before us were two large toy boxes. Jason’s box was decorated with Mario Bros. scenes inspired by the famous Nintendo Game. My toy box was decked out in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my favorite! There were no gifts on the couch or under the tree… just these boxes. There was only one thing to do… we had to open them up!
That decision was the downfall of our plan! The toy boxes had metal latches on them that secured their lids on top and their contents inside, and our excitement had caused us both to lose our stealth mode in this Christmas operation thanks to the rather loud “pops” and “snaps” of those latches. I cannot remember all of the details, but I remember having just enough light from the nightlight in the hallway to get a glimpse of the goodies hiding in the box! And in a moment, the excitement and thrill was met with righteous anger, as my mother flipped the light on in the living room and a bit of pre-dawn chaos ensued. She was furious, and we had been caught red handed.
In those moments, I was living out Dickens’ opening line in the A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” There before me, I had gifts I couldn’t wait to open! However, the sun wasn’t even up yet, and it wouldn’t be for several more hours. So I had to wait… just a little bit longer. For a seven year old, an hour can seem like an eternity at times, much less three or four more hours. I don’t recall much of that morning after we went back to bed, but my brother and I still have our boxes from that Christmas. Mine is still filled with toys from my childhood. Every time I see that box, it reminds me of that Christmas morning more than three decades ago, and it’s a reminder that sometimes, the gifts awaiting us are worth waiting just a little bit longer!
From the time of Genesis 3:15, the Lord’s curse upon the serpent that the seed of the woman would bruise his head, until approximately 2022 years ago, Creation had been waiting for the Father’s greatest gift to Mankind, His only Son. Throughout the Old Testament, we find the people of Israel, time after time and generation after generation, longing for Messiah. But in the midst of their longing, there was generational rebellion, tremendous uncertainty, exhaustion from doubt, all sorts of other setbacks from a sinful people, and continual epochs of judgments by foreign powers. And then came 400 years of silence from the Lord. New generations of Israelites found themselves bound to Tradition while the blood sacrifices continued. Day in and day out, the sin increased, the need for atonement increased, but hope had faded in the bloody monotony of life under the Law.
Had God forgotten His people? His covenant promises? Would Messiah ever show up? It’s so easy to let our hoping and waiting for the greatest gift(s) to transition to complacency and lack of contentment for what we do have before us. It’s so easy to think, I’m doing all I can and surely that is enough for God. But the exhaustion comes in deceiving ourselves that we can DO enough. Apart from God’s rescue plan for Mankind, we can never nor will ever do enough . . . Unfortunately, too many people will willingly die trying to please The God of Creation with the wrong kind of gifts/offerings. This is the significance and beauty of Christmas! A gift was given by the Father that was so great and so pleasing to Him that it eternally surpassed the summation of the all the “good” of all Mankind throughout Creation’s history. The Gift is His Only Son, Jesus.
He is the aim of our Hope.
He is the realization and manifestation of God’s covenant promises to His people.
He is the Alpha and Omega, and everything created exists to honor and glorify Him.
He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He is the Satisfaction of the Father and the source of eternal life for men.
He is the object of our Hope and the fulfillment of our hearts.
He is victor over death and the Judge of all.
He is all that we need, more than we could have imagined and singularly able to save.
He pleads our cause to the Father and comforts our frame in despair.
He makes the weak strong, and he humbles the proud.
He redeems and restores.
He breaks demonic strongholds within our souls, and He sends His angels to minister to us.
He calls us friend, brother, sister.
He gives us His Spirit to steady our course in this life and ensure our safe arrival into His presence in the life to come.
He makes our paths straight as He goes before us, while He covers our “six” and secures our flanks.
He makes waste of what is vile in us and fills us with His righteousness.
He is the light in our darkness.
He took our nails and our cross, becoming our sin in His innocence.
He was forsaken that we who believe would NEVER know what it is to be forsaken.
HE IS THE ATONEMENT for our sin!
He alone makes us pleasing to the Father.
And if we miss Jesus, we miss everything!
The Old Testament ends on the brink of God’s silence toward His people for some four centuries before the arrival of Immanuel. However, He did not go silent without a last word of hope. The Prophet Malachi’s prophecy ends the Old Testament Canon for us with affirmation that the Lord wasn’t finished, and Malachi’s very name suggests the same in its meaning. Malachi means “Messenger of the Lord.” And the prophet certainly lived up to his name:
Malachi 3:1–6
[1] “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
[5] “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
[6] “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
This season, may we see the beauty of Christmas in light of verse 6 here in Malachi Chapter 3. Because the Lord does not change, His covenant promises cannot change. Because the Lord does not change, the rescue plan for mankind HAPPENED in spite of our shortcomings and rebellion. Because the Lord does not change, His grace and redemption is certain for all who come to Him through His Messiah, Jesus. For if the Lord could renege on His promises, redemption and salvation would never be secure. If salvation is not secure, then we could never exclaim with absolute certainty that “Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves!” This is the best news of all! Those who believe in Jesus cannot be consumed in the wrath of God because Jesus wasn’t consumed. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given (Isaiah 9:6) and it is the greatest gift we could ever receive.
God saw it fit this Christmas to give much of the country one of the coldest Christmases in almost four decades. For us in the South, that means we will get to spend more time than usual indoors with the people we love. When you find yourself in the quite moments of this Christmas, turn your heart and mind to the Reason for such celebration, Jesus. Consider the following questions as a means for provoking thoughts and memories over the last year of the goodness of God in your life:
- How has God provided for me (our family) this year, and how did that provision fill needs and/or provide hope?
- In what areas of my life have I noticed the Lord doing a specific work that has increased my faith?
- What kind of ministry work do we (I) feel God leading us (me) towards, and are we willing to step out in faith to trust Him with that calling?
- Who is someone you love dearly but needs to know the greatest Christmas Present of All, Jesus? How can I (we) share the true spirit and meaning of Christmas with that person without expectations? (Brainstorm a few ways you can loving share/show Jesus to that individual. Being intentional is a quality trait of every follower of Jesus. Whatever you choose to do, bathe it in prayer!)
Merry Christmas, everyone!
May the joy of Christmas enrich your lives and strengthen your souls!
May Jesus always be the “center of it all!”
