CHRISTMAS — THE LAMP LIT BY HEAVEN
There are some who would have Christ stand forever in the manger—safe, silent, harmless; wrapped in straw and sentiment, admired but not obeyed. Yet the same Christ who lay beneath the low roof of Bethlehem now walks among the lampstands, His eyes as a flame of fire, His voice like many waters (Revelation 1:14-15).
We do Him no honor by keeping Him small. Love that never wounds our pride, mercy that never rebukes our sin, grace that never commands our allegiance—these are shadows of the true Christ, not the living Lord Himself.
Grace does not arrive with a ledger; it comes with a cross. The Gospel does not whisper permission to remain as we are; it proclaims power to become what we could never be. When heaven bent low and God took on flesh, it was not to admire our world but to redeem it. “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Not soothe them in their sins—save them from them. Salvation is not a warm feeling by the fire; it is a resurrection from the dead.
Yet how gentle is this mighty Savior. He does not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax (Isaiah 42:3). He comes not with a whip for the weary, but with rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28-29). His holiness does not repel the penitent; it heals them. His truth does not crush the contrite; it frees them. The same hand that overturns tables wipes tears; the same voice that commands the storm calls children by name. Here is majesty clothed in mercy—strength robed in love.
Let us then receive Him as He truly is—King and Comforter, Redeemer and Lord. Not merely as a symbol of peace, but as peace Himself; not merely as a teacher of virtue, but as the Life that raises the dead (John 14:6).
If Christ is born only in history and not in the heart, Christmas has passed us by. But if He reigns within—if faith bows and love obeys—then Bethlehem has come home, and heaven has touched the earth again.
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Lord Jesus, reign where I have only admired; rule where I have only remembered. Be born anew in my heart—King, Savior, and Friend. Amen.
BDD
