Christmas 2025: WHEN ETERNITY STEPPED INTO OUR NIGHT
Christmas is not God waving at us from a distance; it is God stepping across the threshold. The miracle is not simply that a child was born, but that the eternal Son chose to be born this way—quietly, humbly, wrapped in weakness. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Gospel of John 1:14). Heaven did not remain safely removed; it moved into the neighborhood.
The wonder of Christmas is not sentiment—it is condescension. The One who fills heaven and earth allowed Himself to be held. The hands that flung stars into space reached instinctively for Mary’s finger. The voice that thundered at Sinai learned to cry in a Bethlehem night. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). The gift was not merely a baby; the gift was God Himself.
Bethlehem tells us something essential about the heart of God. He does not come to the powerful first, but to the lowly. He does not announce His arrival in palaces, but in fields—through angels speaking to shepherds who were accustomed to being overlooked. “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). God made Himself findable; approachable; near.
Yet even in the stillness of the stable, the purpose is already clear. The cradle points forward. The manger leans toward the cross. The wood of the feeding trough quietly preaches the wood of Calvary. His name explains His mission: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christmas is not an interruption in God’s plan—it is the plan unfolding.
This is where Christmas becomes personal. God did not come merely to inspire us, but to redeem us. He entered our poverty so we might share His riches. He stepped into our darkness so we might walk in His light. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light” (Matthew 4:16). Christmas declares that darkness is not ultimate; despair is not sovereign; sin is not undefeated.
Emmanuel—God with us—means God with us in grief, in confusion, in longing, in failure. Not God watching from afar, but God walking beside us. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23). Christmas is God refusing to abandon His creation, choosing instead to enter it and heal it from the inside out.
So we do not celebrate Christmas because everything feels whole—we celebrate because He has come to make all things whole. We sing not because life is easy, but because grace is real. The Child in the manger is the Savior on the cross and the Lord of the empty tomb. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
Christmas is the gospel wrapped in swaddling clothes—quiet and holy and world-changing.
____________
Lord Jesus, Emmanuel, thank You for coming near when we could not reach You. Let the wonder of Your humility soften our hearts, steady our faith, and draw us again to worship. May we never move past the miracle that God came to us. Amen.
BDD
