Christmas expectations

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you" (Zephaniah 3:14-18).

When I was young, Christmas was a time of excitement and happiness. We lived in the city of Manitowoc, a city on Lake Michigan just a short drive from the town of Two Rivers. All of my grandparents lived in Two Rivers, along with some aunts and uncles. Every Friday night we would drive up the road and visit relatives—but following Thanksgiving, there was a different place in Two Rivers that I wanted to go—Evan’s Department Store! Each Christmas season, fully half of their basement was given over to toys of every imaginable type—no store in the county had a better selection. And so I begged my folks to go to Evans, suggesting that my mom look at clothes and my dad look at tools—but before we left, I dragged them to the toy department to show them things I’d love to get for Christmas.

Another neat part about the days leading up to Christmas involved decorating the house. We always had a real tree, and I would go with Father to pick out the best one. At home, I would help Mother decorate the tree, filling it with a mixture of old ornaments and new; I always made sure that there were no bare places left, and that no ornament covered up another. Outside, I would help keep strings of lights untangled as Father strung them up. And of course I hoped for snow, which made everything look so Christmas-y.

When Christmas Eve came, the night was filled with wonder and frustration. I loved singing the Christmas hymns in church, but it was hard to concentrate on the sermon when I knew there were presents back home, wrapped in shiny paper that glittered under the lights of the tree. The frustration kicked into high gear after church; although I desperately wanted to get home, Mother and Father always wanted to drive around and look at the decorated houses. When we finally returned home, the best part of the night started—presents would be passed around and I would find some wonderful new toys to play with. By this time our relatives from Two Rivers had arrived, and we concluded the evening by gathering around the piano—Mother would play, and we would sing several Christmas carols together. By the time our relatives were ready to leave, I was usually exhausted and in bed, dreaming happy dreams.

As the years have passed, the Christmas experience has changed for me. The shopping days following Thanksgiving have become frustrating, as the crowds grow worse and I struggle to figure out the best presents on a responsible budget. When others in the family ask me for gift ideas for myself, it’s becoming harder to come up with suggestions. Decorating the house for Christmas is more of a chore than a joy; I prefer using an artificial tree already strung with lights because it saves time. On Christmas Eve, I get more satisfaction from watching others opening their gifts than from opening my own. And as relatives have died or moved to distant places, there are fewer people gathering in our home to celebrate Christmas with.

The things I used to get excited about at this time of year have changed dramatically. Now I look forward to driving around to see how others have decorated their homes. Now I prefer that there be very little snow, so that people can travel safely. Now the high point of the holidays is the Christmas worship service, where I love singing the hymns and try to offer the best possible sermon, knowing that on Christmas Eve there will be people in church that rarely come any other time of the year.

What gets you excited about Christmas? Do you love ripping through package after package, leaving a heap of tattered paper all around you? Or does your heart speed up at the thought of browsing the sales that precede and follow Christmas? Do you love to attend Christmas parties, get a little tipsy, and flirt under the mistletoe? Or do you look forward to preparing a fabulous meal and filling your home with relatives? Maybe it’s the music that you love, music that you only hear at this time of the year; maybe you are eager to go out Christmas caroling with a bunch of friends. Perhaps the high point of the season for you involves decorating; does it take a beautifully appointed home to make your heart skip a beat? Or is the best part of the holidays simply getting some time off from work?

If these are what define Christmas joy in your mind, be aware that you will have some disappointing holidays. Being laid off from your job or having a year of health problems and high medical bills can dramatically affect gift giving. You might have a pretty lonely Christmas if your friends and relatives live far away, and bad weather prevents travel. Depending on your job, you might even find yourself working on Christmas Eve, able only to watch others celebrating the holiday.

But there is something about Christmas that no one can take away from you, something that circumstances cannot overshadow. It’s the fact of what happened on the first Christmas Eve. It’s the effect that the very first Christmas gift has on your life today. It’s the promise and hope that Christmas fills your heart with, not just on Christmas but every day of the year.

Fact: some 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son into our world dressed in a human body. This Son came as God’s representative to teach us about love, help us recognize behavior that is hurtful and selfish, and assure us that our mistakes can be forgiven. Even more importantly, Jesus came to earth so that He might suffer and die—suffer the punishment we deserved from God for angering Him with our evil thoughts and bad behavior. But His death was only temporary—the Son of God rose from the grave to live forever, proving His power to raise all who die trusting in His mercy. All this is historical fact, witnessed by many and recorded by no less than four different writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. John sums up the purpose of these books when he says, these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

But this is no dusty history. This is not like a Christmas special that is aired once a year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is an event just as important as your own birth. If you didn’t have a birthday, you would not even exist. If Christ were not born to save us, your life would have no purpose or hope. God’s gift of His Son impacts your life every day. Every day you entertain thoughts which anger God—thoughts of jealousy, lust, greed and revenge. Every day you speak words that hurt other people just as surely as if you had slapped them across the face. Every day you let opportunities to show love for others slip away unused. And every day, Jesus waits for you to recognize your sin and apologize to Him. Every day, Jesus offers you freedom from the guilt of your mistakes. John assures us, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

God’s gift of His Son is a gift available to you 24/7. Every day, Jesus is willing to help you fight the temptation to do wrong. Every day, Jesus offers reassurance in the face of discouraging problems. Every day, Jesus awaits your prayers for guidance; when you seek His help before making a decision, He will provide the wisdom that you need. Jesus is God—He is constantly watching over you. The prophet Nahum writes (in chapter one), The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.

God’s gift of His Son assures us of a bright, shining future. No matter how frustrating or joyless life can be, the future is always something to look forward to when we have the gift of Jesus. For us, death is an unpleasant experience, but one that does not terrify. Jesus has broken deaths’ icy grip! He rose from the dead, and He promises to one day restore us to life. For the follower of Jesus, death ushers us into a new reality, a reality where there is no suffering or pain, no loneliness or anxiety, no frustration or disappointment. In heaven, all will be perfect—perfect love, perfect happiness, perfect contentment. Jesus rose from the dead to open the gates of heaven to each and every believer—to you and me. Listen to the words of Peter: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay (1 Peter 1:3-4). Shortly before His death for our sins, Jesus spoke of this hope to the man dying on the cross next to Him: I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart…The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy…"Do not fear…The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you." This is the true meaning of Christmas. This is where joy can be found even if there are no gifts, no music or decorations, no gathering of loved ones. This is a joy you can have even if you’re stuck working on Christmas Eve! Christmas is about God’s love coming into this world to touch you personally. Christmas is about receiving a gift that takes away emotional pain and replaces it with courage, hope and love. When Christ becomes part of your life, He offers to make everything new—and that’s the most exciting part of Christmas.