A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices.
The Bible is all just one story. One theme. One God. One mission. Understanding the Bible as one story changes things. It changes the way you see the manger. It changes the way you see a cross. It changes the way you see the empty tomb. In the very beginning, God created both heaven and earth and it was good. Utter paradise. Just the way God intended it to be. Then, sin entered the world through man’s disobedience to God. Therefore, all mankind is destined to die. Completely in a mess, living in a messy world, desperately in need of someone to come to our rescue. From Genesis all the way to the book of Malachi we read prophecies about a savior that would one day come. The Old Testament ends by describing a people without hope, joy, and peace. The page separating the Old Testament and the new is so significant. It represents 400 years of silence. No word from God. No prophecies. No miracles. Just waiting. Until one night… an ordinary girl who was favored by the Lord gave birth to the savior of the world in a smelly, messy barn. She wrapped him in the same cloth that they would wrap lambs in. Oh to think that he would be the lamb that would give his life for his sheep on Calvary. From his very first breath— hope had come. His name is Emmanuel… God with us. Jesus left the riches of heaven to be here with us in flesh. He could’ve fixed our sin problem from heaven, yet He came to dwell with us instead. He went went the farthest lengths to demonstrate his love for us. The only word people could describe when first encountering Jesus that night was Joy. When people came into His presence, all they could do was worship Him. That was their first response. 2000 years later we sit in two thousand 23. We know the end of the story. We’ve read about the manger, the cross, and the tomb. We often need to be reminded not to separate the manger from the cross. It was the very reason He came. We live on the other side of the anticipation. We have His word in our hands and His spirit living inside of us, holding onto the promise that He’s one day coming again. But this time, not as a humble baby, but rather in power and glory. I pray this Christmas you’ve taken time to be intimate with Jesus that would then lead you to complete awe and in response, you would worship. He’s worthy. Because He came… We have life. We have hope. We have purpose. We have abundance. We have grace. We have forgiveness. We have strength. We have peace. We have victory. The savior has come, joy to the world.
