It seems that the simplest of questions tend to be the hardest to answer. My roommate invited me to guest blog about what Christmas means to me, and over the last several weeks I’ve been stewing over how to respond. I’ve started answering this question 20 different ways in my head, but my answer always ends the same.
Initially, all my family traditions come to mind; decorating the family Christmas tree with homemade ornaments from years past, anxiously waiting at the top of the stairs for my brothers to wake up so I can fly down the stair steps to open my presents and my mother making eggs and blueberry muffins for breakfast. Then piling into the car and driving for three and one-half hours to spend the rest of the day with my extended family. However, these family traditions are not the reason I celebrate Christmas.
Although I’m not sure where this got lost on me, but this year I recently came to understand what the term advent means. Advent simply means “coming” or “arrival.” Much like my anxious anticipation of Christmas morning, advent is the season to celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament serves as a series of unmistakable signposts pointing towards Christ’s arrival on earth. Abraham, the father of Israel, is promised that all nations on earth will be blessed through him. He was only able to see and welcome this promise from a distance, as he knew it wouldn’t come true in his lifetime (Hebrews 11:13).
Isaiah 53 foretells the life that Christ will live; painting a picture of the man we were all waiting for. Israel was a nation in waiting. Advent is a season of celebrating the thing we’ve most looked forward to…the coming of God in flesh (John 1:1) to redeem us from our slavery to sin. Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to bless all nations through him.
Another great way to view this is as explained by a great friend of mine:
“The Old Testament is like a deep breath, slowly drawn in from Abraham through the Prophets, held for four hundred years of silence, and then bursting forth in angelic song (“We bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all the peoples!”) and a voice in the wilderness (“The kingdom of heaven is at hand!”). We celebrate because we waited once and God answered with his Son. Now we’re waiting for that Son again.”
So, people who lived a long time ago anxiously waited for this baby to arrive. What difference does that make to me? Galatians 4:4-5 explains that: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” God sent his one and only Son to live a perfect life, die on the cross to absolve us from our sins, and purchase a place for us in heaven. Christ died on the cross in order to bring us back into relationship with the God of the Bible. All we have to do is accept this gift by faith; trusting wholeheartedly in what Christ did on the cross, repenting (make a 180 degree turn) of our trespasses against him, and committing ourselves to following him.
If I were to summarize what Christmas means to me, it would be about the awaited arrival, and celebration of the Savior of the world. God becoming flesh and dwelling among us, reconciling us back into a right relationship with himself. It also now serves as a reminder that His children are also a nation in waiting.