It’s Christmastime! Houses are decorated and glowing, trees are twinkling and stores are filled with music. It seems to lend itself to those who are sentimental, nostalgic and okay, sappy in nature. That would be me! We bake the same cookies every year and all of us in the family agree it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Our Christmas breakfast will consist of the same menu that it has always been and we spend a lot of time looking back over Christmases past. It is a time of remembering. But isn’t that what Christmas really is? Remembering that,” there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
When our children were young, we wanted to do things that would remind them that Christmas was about the baby in a manger who is our Savior. One of the things we used was an Advent wreath. It was a very simple wreath with five candles. Each candle represented a part of the Christmas story leading up to the birth of Christ. There was a Prophet’s candle, Bethlehem candle, Shepherd’s candle, Angel’s candle, and the one in the center was the Christ candle. On each Sunday leading up to Christmas we would light one candle and Jim would read that part of the story. When God led us to the Ozarks and to our first church, we took the Advent wreath. It became apart of our worship as the church would gather on those December mornings. I can still see the children running up to Jim after Sunday school asking who was going to light the candle that Sunday. I have such treasured memories of our own children around our table and the children of that sweet country church at Christmas time around the advent wreath.
Advent is the anticipation and celebration of the arrival of our Christ. And just as I witnessed children circled around a wreath, it is us turning our focus and desiring our lives to circle around Him, as we remember Him coming to earth as a baby to rescue sinners. To rescue me! I have attempted to do this through the years that have been void of an advent wreath on our table and little children to constantly remind what Christmas is really about. I read through the prophesies of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament and Luke’s account of Mary and Joseph, shepherds, angels and a baby in the manger. I ask God to allow the words to be fresh again and that I will not just read them like a story that I have memorized but that He will give me new eyes and nuggets of truth.
This week as I read the names of our Messiah in Isaiah, I was amazed as I thought through who He really is. “His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father and Prince of Peace.” The world and many around offer counsel; He knew we needed the Wonderful Counselor. Little gods abound and give no strength or power; He knew we needed a Mighty God. This life and most of what is in it is temporary and offers no security; He knew we needed an Eternal Father. Most of the places that we seek peace have no authority and are fleeting; He knew we needed the Prince of Peace. He promised to meet all of our needs. They were and are and will be met in Jesus! May we remember.
Oh Come Let Us Adore Him….
Isaiah 9:6, Philippians 4:19
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