We don’t usually associate Christmas with sacrifice. Christmas is all about family, festivity, and feasting. Loss and pain are utterly alien to the season.
Or so we thought.
When we think of God sacrificing His Son, Jesus, for our sins, we think of Holy Week, a period shrouded in darkness and sorrow. But the sacrifice really began at the first Christmas, an event we celebrate with lights and cheer.
God did not send His Son as a full-grown man helplessly nailed on a cross, at the mercy of Roman soldiers. He sent Jesus as a newborn baby helplessly lying on a trough, at the mercy of human parents.
This was no small sacrifice. Imagine a raging war and a father who didn’t hold back his son from the army. That depth of loss, pain and yes, sacrifice, lies behind what one song called “the most wonderful time of the year”.
But I am not calling for somber introspection during Christmas. I would reserve that for Lent, when we would focus on Calvary. Today, we focus on Bethlehem.
It is a time of gratitude for God’s provision for our salvation. Think of it as a cosmic exchange gift. God gave us His Son. In return, we give Him our faith and allegiance.
In this new life, we enjoy abundant life and eternal life. Our enmity with God has ceased. And in a glorious future, there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more death. THAT would put a thousand Christmases pale by comparison.
All because of a Heavenly Father who didn’t hold back His Son from the world.
All the more: oh come let us adore Him!
December 24, 2022
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