Jesus is the ultimate gift, a sacrifice for fallen man, and a provision that never ends
For many the Christmas season typically rolls right into end-of-year traditions, reflections, and hopes for a new year. But have you ever thought of Christmas as the beginning of something new?
The truth of Christmas is that it was a new beginning. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of the redemption story for all humanity and creation. Christ’s entrance into the natural world marks our ability to be reconciled to God. It is God’s gift to mankind. But unlike the gifts we give each other at Christmas, this gift never fades or breaks. In fact, once accepted it grows, and one day it will result in a world that is hard to imagine.
Christ’s birth was just the beginning. He dwelt among men for 30 years, He was crucified for our sins, He rose from the dead, and He is coming again. The world that awaits Christians at Christ’s return is going to be amazing, and even though His return is not a typical subject of Christmas messaging, there is a carol that talks about the world as it will be when Christ returns and reigns on earth for a thousand years.
Joy to the World
“Joy to the World,” one of the most widely published Christmas hymns in North America, was written in 1719 by Issac Watts and was inspired by Psalm 98 which emphasizes Christ’s reign on the earth.
Let’s review these words:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the world! The Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ, While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sin and sorrow grow, Nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders of His love.
These things did not all happen at the Nativity, but they will happen at His second coming. I don’t intend to stop singing “Joy to the World” at Christmas, but it does encourage me to shift my focus and remember that Christmas is not an end but a beginning.
Christ’s Entrance
Luke 2 records the story of Christ’s entrance into the world, whether you’ve heard it a hundred times or this is your first invitation, join me in reading the Christmas story out of Luke 2. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (verse 11).
Jesus is the ultimate gift, a sacrifice for fallen man, and a provision that never ends. This Christmas let that truth dominate our focus and let it be the primary force that propels us into a new year filled with room for our Savior. Everyone in the Nativity story made room for the newborn Savior, and God in His graciousness has made room for us in eternity. He wants us to dwell with Him, now and forever. When we make room for Him, when we dwell on His Word and His promises, we will be compelled to share the joy that ultimately overflows in us.
So, this Christmas and all the days that follow may we sing and share “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!”
Merry Christmas!
