Christmas at last! The majesty of it has finally arrived. Celebrate with a Christmas devotion.
It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7 (ESV)
It’s a beautiful holy day, and I love it. But sometimes as the hours of Christmas tick by, they begin to feel anticlimactic, as if I’m searching for What now? I don’t want to let go of this day for another year. It comes and goes too quickly, a reminder of how Jesus came to earth, died, rose, and returned to heaven. And what then?
He promised to come back someday, and now humanity is in waiting mode again. However, that first Christmas changed all of our future days of “What now?” After Jesus returned to His heavenly Father, He sent His Spirit to abide throughout the earth, and even better, directly within His believers.
How much difference does His spirit’s presence in us make for life, for all the days that are not December 25? It’s all the difference.
Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, His spirit didn’t abide within believers. Now that He does live in us, every day of this fallible, messy life holds the glory of Christmas because He is still here.
Jesus, in the midst of any old everyday day, fills each one with His glory, like Christmas. Even if a day holds sorrow or disappointment or health scares or relationship troubles, it is still full of the Christmas miracle. We can look forward to tomorrow, knowing it’ll be as glorious as the one when Jesus came to us all those generations ago.
FAITH STEP: Put a daily alert on your phone or a note on your kitchen windowsill to remind yourself to revel in the truth of Christmas every day.