Advent: Love - Isaiah 9 / John 1

Christmas is just a single day, yet it dominates an entire part of every year. Its spirit is felt early and it lingers well passed the 25th of December. No doubt, Christmas is such a beloved and anticipated time of year because of the comforting and joyous atmosphere it brings into our world. This comfort and joy, of course, is a direct result of the promise of Christmas - that none of us are too far from, because God came into our world to save everyone. Christmas is the day that God erred on the side of grace, by stepping into the world that had rebelled against Him, and loving it anyway. Jesus is God's light sent to our dark world. Jesus is God's love fleshed out and poured out for us. Jesus is the fullness of God made fully known, so that we might be fully loved and wholly belong to Him. Christmas is the permanent, eternal record of what God is like and what He thinks about us, because Christmas gave us Jesus - and He's the gift that keeps on giving. He is God and in Him we are loved, chosen, and saved. Glad tidings of comfort and joy, indeed.