Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ
A few years back I posted a Christmas playlist that we rocked during the month of December (and usually a few weeks after). This year I decided to put together a new one, and thought…share the merriment and joy. Hope you enjoy! This year’s is covers a goodly amount of musical terrain. Some of it is classic “wintery” tunes…Let it Snow, kinda stuff. Others are quite lovely renderings of Christmas carols. Still others…well…I won’t spoil it all for you.
The four thousand years from Adam’s fall to Christ’s birth were full of God’s preparations to redeem us. His eternal purpose was brought about by His sovereign care over all of history’s details. His preparations all culminated in a small village. A child was born in something like a barn. This was the child who had been promised to Eve who would crush Satan’s head. And God is still preparing; preparing a bride for the second advent of His Son.
In Proverbs, we’re exhorted to cultivate the virtue of Preparation. It’s found there in a number of guises: diligence, prudence, readiness, planning ahead, providence. The slothful man is pictured as hastily living for the moment, resulting in a shamble of an existence. The diligent man, by contrast, is rewarded with wealth & largesse.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, & are punished (Pro 27:12).â€
“The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want (Pro 21:5).â€
“Every purpose is established by counsel: & with good advice make war (Pro 20:18).â€
During Christmastime we all busy ourselves with preparation. We prepare gifts, food, decorations. After all, the presents don’t wrap themselves, the turkey won’t cook itself, and the Christmas tree won’t chop itself down to ornament itself. We arrange schedules for the Christmas meal and gussy up for the Christmas Eve service. This month is brimming over––like your waistlines after a month of fudge, cheese, and egg nog––with preparations.
This season should remind us of how we ought to go about our entire life. We’re always preparing. We’re either preparing like the wise son of Proverbs, or like the lazy fool. Either like a Scrooge, Grinch, Couch Potato; or a diligent man, imitating the providence of God. One day you will give an account for your life. Will you be ready for that reckoning?
C.S. Lewis once made this striking observation, “Every temple in the world, the elegant Parthenon at Athens and the holy temple at Jerusalem, was a sacred slaughterhouse. […] But […] if temples smelled of blood, they also smelled of roast meat; they struck a festive & homely note, as well as a sacred.â€
Some cultures and empires were less cruel than others in the sort of blood offered to the gods; the human sacrifices of the Aztecs make the day of Yom Kippur look quaint by comparison. But one thing shouldn’t escape our notice: the sacrificial system was a horror. Even amongst God’s people––restrained by His holy law––the blood-letting of countless animals, causing the temple stairs to turn into a river of blood would likely make even the most stout-hearted rancher here get a little queasy.
But accompanying all the sacrificial blood was the festive aroma of meat over fire. Calvary was a horror. Our nativity scenes don’t always capture the nuance that the baby in the feeding-troff was a lamb to be slaughtered. The Lamb Who was offered up to become a pleasing aroma in the Lord’s nostrils. Justice would be satisfied. Joyful festivities might commence.
This table reminds us of both the horror of God the Son, bleeding out for the remission of sins, and the savory aroma of a victory feast. God, through the Son’s blood, has made His enemies His friends, and now invites us to share in this bountiful meal, celebrating His triumph. Both the horror and joy are on this table. The somber note of the grievousness of our sins and the great price paid to forgive them, turns into the trumpet blast of the celebration begun.
So come and welcome to Jesus…
30 WAYS TO PARENT ON PURPOSE: Changing the World Through Intentional Parenting by Johnathan Harms
Christmas is an eschatological catechism class for the whole world. A few illustrations of what I mean. A friend of mine once shared the story of being in Dubai during the Christmas season, and—while in a large shopping mall—heard carol after carol: Joy to the World, Silent Night, etc. Recently, I took my kids to see the latest rendition of Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. In one scene, the titular green grouch is chased through Whoville by carolers singing:
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
One more example: from factories in third-world countries, to city halls, church-yards, and front lawns across the world, Nativity scenes are manufactured, set-up, displayed, and then, of course, sued by the ACLU.
Christ’s first advent is quite inescapable. During the Christmas season, People and cultures the world over are forced to reckon with a baby born in Bethlehem two-thousand years ago. Of course, the means of reminding us of the first advent are sometimes vague, sometimes clouded over by sentimentality, often imperfect. However, we must not forget that the mere reminder of Christ’s first advent, brings up the promise of His second advent; where He will come again, with all His holy angels, to judge the living and dead.
That is why Christmas is an eschatological catechism. We are telling the world that God became a man, and that that God-man is coming again. The glad tidings which the angels declared at Bethlehem is like leaven. Centuries later, we see that leaven working its way slowly, imperceptibly at times, through all the world. We see that Stone growing into a mountain. We see that mustard seed growing into a mighty tree. This month of preparation for and celebration of Christmas is perhaps the most vibrant reminder to believers and unbelievers alike: the Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God, and of His Christ.
Christmas is such an opportune time to remind our neighbors, friends, families that Christ has come and is coming again. So up your game: take some cookies to the neighbors and sing a carol while you’re at it, or invite a handful of families over—including unbelieving coworkers or neighbors—and sing a few Christmas hymns, read Luke 2, and make sure the hot chocolate is on point. If you happen to own some silos, plaster a massive Merry Christmas for the whole town to see; you get the idea.
The bread on this table took months, if not years, to arrive here. A farmer bought seeds, planted them, nurtured them, harvested the wheat, sent it to the granary, it was milled into flour, which a baker then turned into bread, which a trucker delivered to the grocer, and then our faithful deacons purchased it and readied it for us all this morning.Â
The wine is much the same. A vineyard nurtured its vines for years, harvested the grapes, pressed them into juice, and fermented it for perhaps decades. The point is…this meal took years to prepare.
And, what this meal represents also took years––millennia, in fact––to prepare. God’s goal in history is His own glory by redeeming for Himself a people through the atoning sacrifice of His Son. From the fall onward, God was preparing this meal. He promised a serpent-crusher to Eve. He promised a starry host to Abraham. He promised a passover lamb to Moses. He promised an eternal kingdom to David. He promised Immanuel to Isaiah.Â
As Paul put it, “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal 4:4-5).†In the fullness of time, God the Father set the table, the supper was ready. The meal upon it was His only begotten Son, come to redeem us, and make us His sons and daughters. All human history was guided by His sovereign hand to prepare this meal for you.
So come and welcome to Jesus…
A common cliché during the Christmas season is that “It isn’t about gettin’, it’s about givin’.†It’s a favorite line in Hallmark Movies and church, Christmas cantatas. And to be fair, it bears resemblance to the biblical truth that it’s more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35).
However, if we aren’t careful, this sentiment will begin to make about as much sense as that old country song, “I’m My Own Grandpa.†What have you ever given that you did not first receive? When have you ever been autonomously generous? Who can give unto God, as if He needed anything (Acts 17:25)? Everything you’ve ever given was borrowed.
You give a gift. But God gave you the job to make the money to buy the gift, as well as the mind which picked out the perfect present, as well as the two hands which wrapped it up, as well as every heartbeat you had in the process.
Never think that your generosity can stand on its own two feet. Otherwise it turns you into a smarmy, self-righteous character, right out of the aforementioned Hallmark movie. You are a creature, made to imitate your creator…not rival Him. We’re like a toddler who––with his father joyfully watching––uses the remote control as a phone, perfectly mimicking the way the father talks on phone.
Our giving is always a receiving from God. We give praise unto God; but He graciously gave us new hearts which desire to praise Him in the first place. Our gift-giving is a creaturely imitation of God Almighty. God made this world, gave us existence, and filled this world with things He wants us to give to each other. We give gifts because our Father made all the molecules in this universe.
