PART 3: 3 Pieces of Every Day Encouragement to Remember This Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve everyone and welcome back to our Christmas series! Today is the last post in the series, talking about every day reminders from the birth of Jesus to remember this Christmas. In the last two posts, we've talked about how God can use anyone's story for His glory, no matter our past, mistakes, circumstances, and how the Lord is so intentional with the timing in our lives, even when we're in a waiting seasons.

In today's post, I want to dive in and remember the mighty impact that the birth of Jesus had on all of eternity. I've learned that if we don't take the time to zoom out and reflect on the big picture, we'll miss the magnitude and power of the whole event, and we'll find ourselves going through the motions and celebrating Christmas for all the wrong reasons. If we don't remember why we desperately need a Savior, if we don't remember the entire mission that Jesus entered the world for, Christmas will only be a surface level, worldly holiday - and that's not what it was meant to be.

The truth is, the birth of Jesus was more than just any other birth. Jesus' arrival to earth was humble but it shook the course of history because on that night, the God of the universe entered earth as a tiny baby, all of His power and glory into one little human. He committed to a lifetime of suffering and pain, walking through all of the same trials that we endure. Jesus didn't come to conquer or control, but love and restore, and He did that by serving others when He deserved to be the one served.

When Jesus entered the world, hope entered the world. His name can be translated many ways, including "the Lord saves" and "God rescues", and that's exactly what He did. We no longer have to be defined by our failures or our flaws, no longer seen as the mistakes we've made or the things done to us. Our eternity was rewritten and we were offered a relationship with the Almighty God through His Son who thought we were worth dying for. We're offered new life, an unexplainable joy that's not dependent on our circumstances, and the Spirit of the living God residing inside of us. Everything has changed because of this one little baby - because He's not an ordinary baby.

I think it's important to reflect on the cross as much as the manger this Christmas season, because that was the whole mission for Jesus entering the world. Jesus came to die, because that's what it would take to restore humanity and to reconcile us with God. He died on the cross as the ultimate grand gesture of love. That's how much He loves us - that even if we were the only ones on the planet, He would still look at us from the cross and go through all of the pain, just for us, to be able to have a relationship with us. He would do that for you, sweet friend. Jesus was thinking of you as He was hanging on the cross; with every beating, with every drop for blood, with every tear, He had you in mind.

And that sacrifice means that our future is completely changed. We can choose to spend eternity in heaven with our loving Father, basking in His glory and praising Him for the rest of our days. Worldly troubles no longer reign over us, and our failures don't have to define us. Depression and anxiety and fear and comparison do not have to take over my life because my God is the light in every source of darkness the world tries to throw at me. My value is not in my deeds but in my Maker. I get to learn how to walk hand in hand with the Holy Spirit and how to deny my flesh so that I can live in the abundant life He has in store for me.

All of that began with a tiny baby, born in a manger.

That is why we celebrate Christmas, and I don't want to ever forget it.