The Gift and the Giver

Picture how you felt as a child on Christmas morning. I remember waking up in my holiday decorated pajamas, overfilled with excitement that a wonder happened overnight while we were sleeping. There was so much anticipation to see if the cookies were eaten, the presents had my name on them, and the stockings were overflowing with goodies. How could my parents want to sleep on a morning like this?! The day was FINALLY here. The morning had FINALLY come. The wait was FINALLY over.

As an adult, Christmas morning feels a little bit different. First of all, the motivation to spring out of bed only comes if coffee is brewing. The wonder of Christmas sometimes gets spoiled by responsibilities for deadlines at work, making sure everyone we love has the perfect present, fighting the neighborhood crowds at the grocery store, and ensuring that we jump from house to house to see all the expected family members. It becomes easier and easier to forget the joy and wonder we felt as children.

As a kid, the anticipation for Christmas morning is almost unbearable because of the jittery excitement. You will yourself to try and sleep. After all, mom says the faster you go to sleep, the faster morning comes.

As an adult, the anticipation for Christmas morning is a little less exciting. Your Christmas wish (especially as a parent) might be to actually get some sleep.

How has Christmas changed for you?

It is easy to witness that Christmas has become the most commercialized holiday in the world. Kicked off by Black Friday deals, the season of Christmas begins with the pressure to celebrate with materialization. Christmas music plays through the radio immediately, decorations are put up after Halloween, and the countdown pressure begins.

When our focus shifts to the commercialization of Christmas, we miss out on the wonder. This year, I just wasn’t feeling the holidays. Feeling pulled in different directions, it became less of a time to relax and became a season with a longer to-do list. Recognizing that I was getting drawn into the pressure of Christmas, I made it a priority to study scripture with my coffee each morning during advent.

I’m sure you’ve heard the Christmas story, year after year. For me, it became so familiar that I stopped reading in-between the lines. I would listen to the scripture read at Christmas Eve service, but not dissect the meaning. Yes, of course there is excitement that Jesus was born. Yes, of course there is happiness brought with the story. Yes, of course we should celebrate the child laying in a manger. But…just like every other part of Christmas, we have to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.

What does scripture say?

“Advent” is a word derived from the Latin word “adventus”, meaning “coming”. It is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ’s coming.

When we think about Christmas, we often think of it as the beginning of Jesus’ reign. In actuality, the story of the Savior doesn’t just start with the event of Jesus’ birth. His birth, his life, and his death were prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Jesus’ coming was described for thousands of years before His arrival.

The prophets described the location of his birth over 800 years before he was born in the book of Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Over 700 years before Jesus was born, the scriptures of Isaiah 7:14 described how the savior would come in the form of a human and His name would mean ‘God with us’: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Why is this important?

We should recognize that God planned out every detail of the Christmas story. From the location in Bethlehem to the parents Jesus was born to, God held a reason and meaning. The promise of a Savior from sin happened in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Throughout the lives of Moses, Abraham, Samuel, and David, God made covenants to take care of His people and eventually set them free from slavery of sin.

The Christmas story fulfills the prophecies through scripture, but it also shows us characteristics of God. For example, Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room in an inn. In the scriptures, we read how shepherds were some of the first people entrusted with the news of Jesus. Have you ever wondered why God chose them? Shepherds in that day were a low social class and were seen as unclean or “less than” others.. If Jesus was born in an inn or someone’s home, the shepherds wouldn’t have been invited or welcomed in. Instead, God invited the common, hardworking, ordinary people to see Jesus first. Just like you and me.

He is a welcoming and purposeful God.

What’s the promise of Christmas?

Jesus is both the gift and the giver of Christmas. His birth symbolizes the coming of God to save His people. He was “born to set thy people free”. The gift we all receive on Christmas morning is the love of God through the coming of his son. We receive the gift of grace, the gift of patience, the gift of hope, the gift of freedom from sin, the gift of His covenant to live in His kingdom, and the gift of redemption. Jesus’ birth is an invitation. Jesus’ birth is a celebration. Jesus’ birth is a promise.

Throughout our lifetime, we receive the opportunity to keep unwrapping the gift. Christmas is a time to express our love to others and bear our testimony of the Savior, but it doesn’t stop when we take our decorations down.

Christmas is a time to reflect and renew our hearts. We are reminded of the wonder and magic through the Christmas story, but more importantly of the love. As we sing our Christmas carols, wrap our gifts, enjoy our Christmas cookies, let us not forget to prepare our hearts from the joy that is coming. Let yourself stop and reflect on the wonder. Put yourself in the perspective of Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds to try and understand how they felt. Read between the lines of the Christmas story as you listen, noting the small miracles, the invitations, and the characteristics of a loving God.

When Christmas comes, we will celebrate. Just like we said when we were children, “The day is FINALLY here. The morning has FINALLY come. The wait is FINALLY over.”