Merry Christmas

Scripture: Isaiah 61

At the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle-the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture. And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend.

-The Jesus Storybook Bible

Sometimes when my bible opens it immediately falls to page 1352, Isaiah 61.

The page is full of underlining and names and wrinkles. Full of memories and hopes. I think maybe they are the greatest words ever written.

Jesus, the baby upon whom everything would depend. The Immanuel who came to be with and to rescue the poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, the bound. The Savior who would to flip things inside out and upside down: gladness instead of mourning and beauty in the place of ashes. The Messiah, who came to redeem and restore the places in us and on this earth that have been long devastated.

And on a quiet night in a regular town, in a dirty stable he came. No trumpets blared. No luscious robes were brought in. He came into a town and a world that never saw it coming.

That quiet night in the dirty stable was just beginning. He took the world by storm and He changed everything.

And on another quiet night on a dirty hill, the Savior, the Messiah, the King completed His rescue. So that one day, this King will come again for us. The King, who will make all of the sad things become untrue. The King, who will put everything back together. The King who loves you just as you are, not as you should be.

The King who made a way, He will return for his people.

The King is coming...

Prayer:

Jesus, I belong to you, body and soul. Let it happen as you say. Amen.