God. With. US.

The Holiday Season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's) can be a difficult time for a lot of people, especially those who are going through a loss, are single (and wish they weren't), or those who don't have any family. The above are things that are common to humanity, and struggling with feelings of grief, loneliness, or sadness are not abnormal, and I would even dare to say, not typically sinful. However, for Christians, those feelings should not dictate our attitudes or actions. Those feelings should also not fester into discontentment but should instead remind us of the incredible truth that while we are all victims of a fallen world -- believers and unbelievers alike -- we who know Jesus have an ETERNAL HOPE giving us strength and joy to live on this TEMPORARY, and sometimes painful, world.

To be honest, I've personally been struggling with the Holiday Season (it was my dear mother who encouraged me by telling me it isn't a sin to feel sad, but it is to feel self-pity or have a bad attitude). As we've gotten closer to Christmas, though, I've been finding an incredible wonder at the marvel of the pinnacle of the Holiday Season -- Christmas, when we celebrate our God who came to earth in the form of a man so that we could come to HIM! There have been moments where I'm (nearly literally) floored at the wonder of it. 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  

21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).  

24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25 (English Standard). God with us -- Jesus was and IS the GOD who is WITH US. 

The pastors at our church have shared a few sermons over the past weeks, and one of them shared how God initially communicated to us through things such as a burning bush (see, e.g., Exodus 3), words of prophets, etc. This wasn't something we could truly relate to or have a relationship with. When He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, God in flesh, to earth, He opened a way for us to have a one-on-one relationship with Himself.

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (English Standard).

It's difficult to even express it, but the incredible truth of Christmas is that God came to be WITH US; He came to live a perfect life, be murdered by those He created, face the full wrath of God for the sins of the world, and be raised to life again since death has no hold on Him (See, e.g., 1 Corinthians 15). God poured His wrath on His Son so that all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ in repentance, believing in the free gift of forgiveness and salvation, will be SAVED FROM THEIR SINS. What a wonder.

And so, while the "sentimental" part of the Holiday Seasons may be tainted by a bit of earthly pain, the reality of an incredible Savior coming to earth far surpasses those feelings.

Merry Christmas!

Sonia