*Sarpali.us

I love Christmas. I always have. For many people, however, the holidays can be a time of deep pain and struggle. The world kind of pretends like everything is great around this time of year, but the truth is the same challenges and sufferings of September carry on through New Year's day.

As a kid, and to some degree now, my favorite part about Christmas is the anticipation. My wife and I share in this with our own children now as we hope and dream and expect together.

Then Christmas day comes and it's everything we hoped it would be. Then the day after Christmas comes and it's only so-so.

In the same way our celebration of Christmas should be a recognition of God sending his Son to his people, my reflection on this feeling of anticipation (and the subsequent letdown) should be a reminder of the hope we have that God will bring his people to his Son.

There will be no letdown.

Our anticipation of what really matters, namely our final blissful reunion with our Savior, is what we ought to spend our time focusing on and reflecting on. This is not only for the holidays, but for our very life. Consider Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The post-Christmas letdown ought to be an opportunity for us to remind ourselves, and one another, to hold fast to the confession of our hope. We indeed enjoy the blessing of salvation here on earth, but it is nothing compared to the glory we will enjoy forever in heaven with Jesus.

We will not suffer. We will not struggle. We will not shed tears of sorrow or pain.

We will not be let down.

Christians love to talk about the real meaning of Christmas this time of year. We love gifts and lights and decorations and family. We also like to make Jesus birthday cakes and put up nativity scenes. 

These are all good things. But they aren't the ultimate thing. The real meaning of Christmas is more than just an anti-Santa message of a baby being born in humble circumstances. 

God Among Us
John tells us that Jesus has always existed (Jn. 1:1; Also Col. 1:15-20, 2:9). He wasn't created that night in the stable, but instead took on human form to his already eternal divine nature (Jn. 1:14). In what is undoubtedly John's most famous verse, we understand the most simple explanation of why Jesus came: 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him might have eternal life." 

We must not let the familiarity with this story and verse merely fall down and melt like California snow. We need to roll around in it and make snow angels and throw snowballs at each other and taste every flake of the greatness of this concept; God came to earth! 

He didn't have to. He could have stayed where He was and still been Perfect and Just and Loving and Holy. But he did. He loves the world so much that he came to earth and took on human form. 

God's Example
We shouldn't miss the fact that Jesus' earthly presence is something for us to cling to. We have a model. An example. A friend. A relative. 

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)

Remembering the birth of Jesus is to remember that we have a very tangible, real example of what God is like and what it is like to walk with God. This too is glorious news. 

God's Love
We like to talk a lot about the love of God. But God's love for us is not entirely wrapped up in his earthly ministry and example. Lots of people think Jesus was a good example of moral living and human love. But there's more.

God shows his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8).  

We must never leave Jesus in the manger until Easter. When we celebrate his birth, we need to carry that celebration forward to understand what his birth represents in the scope of redemptive history. 

In the same way the mechanics and the logistics of what happened physically to Jesus on the cross are sancitifed and sacred and important, so are the mechanics of the manger and the angels and the wisemen. And just as the reason for the cross is more important than the mechanics of that day, we have to remember the reason our Savior came in the first place. 

The Christmas Story
This last Friday night before our older kids went to bed, I read them the story of Jesus' birth to remind them about the real reason we celebrate Christmas once a year. The following night, the kids were begging me to read them Elf On The Shelf. I was reluctant but thought I'd use it as an opportunity to see if they're learning anything from what we read in the Bible together. I told them we could read Elf On The Shelf if they could tell me the Christmas story in their own words. 

Here's how that conversation went:

Dad: What is Christmas really all about?
Owen (age 6): Jesus' birthday
Dad: Can you guys tell me the story about what happened? 
Ella (age 4): An Angel came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. Joseph didn't believe her so an Angel came to Joseph and said Mary was telling the truth and that Joseph had a choice to make to leave or to take Mary for his wife. And he decided to take her as his wife.
Dad: And then what happened?
Owen: Jesus was born.
Dad: And was he born in a fancy hospital with doctors and medicine and comfort?
Owen: No.
Ella: He was born in a manger
Owen: With animals there
Dad: That's right. Then what happened?
Owen: People came to see him and give him presents.
Dad: Then what happened?
Ella: He got swallowed by a whale.

Dad: (laugh hard. correct course. be thankful that she was at least pulling a BIBLE story out of her head)

Dad: OK, so why was Jesus born? 
Owen: To die on the cross.
Dad: And why did he do that?
Owen: To die for our sins.
Dad: And why did he do that?
Ella & Owen: Because he loves us. 

The historical Jesus was loving. The eternal Jesus is love. The Jesus we celebrate December 25th is the eternal and historical Jesus who loved us so much that he showed us how to live and he died for us to enjoy him forever.

I've been reading the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas and it's outstanding. One phrase I read this morning resonated with me and I think it's worth sharing.

Bonhoeffer believed that "communicating what he knew theologically - whether to indifferent businessmen, teenagers, or younger children - was as important as the theology itself."

I place a high premium on knowing God (Theology). If He is to be the object of our worship and our affections and our allegience and our satisfaction, then we ought to know him.

But sometimes too great an emphasis is placed on knowing lots of facts without knowing the very Person these facts inform you of. We all can agree there are scholars and thinkers who know a lot about Jesus and his word but don't for one second confess him as Lord.

While knowledge is not ultimate per se, your knowledge of God is critical. At least it should be. One of the ways we can increase the value of what we know to be true about God is to work out our ability to communicate these truths.

There are many reasons I love teaching and writing, but one of the greatest joys to my soul is working hard to articulate what my heart and mind are after in terms of God and his will for my life. There is great value in being able to communicate what we're feeling and what we're thinking so that it will benefit those around us.

The good news of the grace and love and reconciliation of Jesus Christ is already "good". It's only "news" if you can share it with others.

"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" - 1 Pet. 3:15

Communicating what we know theologically is as important as the theology itself.

Awkward. The Thanksgiving meal, which many people work so hard to prepare, is ready to eat. The game on t.v. is put on pause and the kids are hushed and told they need to come join the rest of the family. It's that time. Time to pray. 

And it's awkward. 

It's awkward because there may very well be people standing in a circle or around the table, holding hands, who very infrequently actually bow their heads to thank God for anything. Granted, you may be blessed with a very large, strong Christian family that takes this moment very seriously and you should praise God for such a tremendous gift! But not everyone, ineed most people are not in this situation.  

If you're the Christian in the group or your perceived to be the "super-christian" in the group, you may very well be asked to lead everyone in prayer. Your family may even go around the room and share something they're thankful for. 

The list of thanks are sometimes trivial and sometimes not. Little Johnny may thank God for good food and that Christmas is right around the corner. Others may thank God for good health or for family or for their jobs. These are all good things to be thankful for and we ought to always be thanking the Lord for them. 

But they are the gravy of Thanksgiving, not the glory of Thanksgiving. 

We can bring weight and glory and significance to our prayer or discussions on Thanksgiving by thanking God for the greatest blessing we can conceive of. God has rescued us from our slavery to sin. While we were sinners, he loved us. Despite our resistance of him, he has overcome that resistance and granted us faith in Christ. 

Consider Romans 6:17-19

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

What if we redeem the awkwardness of the Thanksgiving prayers by thanking God for the cross. Thank him for his rescuing of us? Thank him for overcoming our sin and our desparation. 

We will only pray and think this way if we really and truly understand the depth of the gift God has given us. 

Are you more thankful for God's salvation or for God's blessings? Are you more thankful for the gifts of Jesus or for Jesus himself?

Thanks be to God for loving us in such a rescuing way. 

One God

The Bible teaches that God is one. From Genesis 1, where we are told there is "God" and not a multiplicity of gods to Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, "Hear, O Isreal: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." Paul writes to Timothy, "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Tim. 1:17) God's one-ness in Scripture is inescapable.

Three Persons

While Scripture is clear that there is only one God, it is also clear that there is a multiplicity that exists within Him. In Genesis alone, we see God referring to himself as "us" (1:26; 3:22; 11:7). To better understand what the New Testament says about the Trinity, it is helpful to look at each Person of the Trinity and see how they are each distinctly identified as God.

One particular note that is important before we look at each individual Person of the Trinity is that these three Persons are each simultaneously God. We do not believe that God has existed in three "manifestations" and this is critical to our faith. The Bible teaches that while the Father, the Son and the Spirit are all equally God, they serve in different capacities when it comes to salvation. Let's look at that more specifically.

God the Father
When we think of God the Father, we see God as the great Planner and Maker of the universe and all that is in it. We might say that the Father is the one who ultimately receives our highest praise. Jesus throughout his ministry on earth said that he was here to glorify the Father. Paul says in Ephesians 1:2,3 "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord JEsus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

John says in verse 14 of chapter 1, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus also tells us to pray to the Father in Matthew 6. We can see the distinction of God as Father all over Scripture. He is Provider and Sustainer and Author.

In reading these verses, it is impossible to isolate the Father from the Son. Indeed a Father without a Son is not a Father at all.

God the Son
There are 3 great passages that teach us Jesus Christ is fully God. The easiest one to connect to a passage we've already looked at (Genesis 1:1) is Colossians 1:15-17, which says, "[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." We can see from this passage that Christ has always existed and that he is powerfully holding all things together. While God the Father created the earth, he created it "through" and "for" the Son. 

John 1 is another masterful explanation of the Deity of Christ. Verse 1 is similar to the Colossians passage and reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." While these passages show that the Son has always existed, verse 14 says, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Taking it one step further, in verse 32 of chapter 1, John says, "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him." Cross-referencing that with Luke 3:22, we know that this "Word" was indeed Jesus.

Perhaps the most moving passage about Jesus' equality with God the Father is in John chapter 5. Jesus healed a man by the pool on the Sabbath day and forgave him his sins. The Jewish leaders persecuted him for this and verse 17 and 18 gives us Jesus' response along with the reason why this was so important, "But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.' This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

God the Spirit
There are many passages in Scripture that describe the Spirit as God (and vice versa). One such passage is in 2 Corinthians 3:17, which says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Or in Acts 5 where Ananias and Sapphira lie about how much money they sold their property for. Peter says in verse 3, "But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?" and then in verse 5, "You have not lied to men but to God."

In terms of the role of the Holy Spirit, we can peer into Jesus' conversation with his disciples in John 14-16. Jesus is preparing these followers of his for the sorrow and persecution that is about to come upon them. He will soon be going to the cross and leaving their presence after 3 years of walking so closely together on earth. The disciples do not fully understand, but after Jesus' eventual ascension into heaven, it all finally sinks in.

Jesus' encouragement to his disciples in this discourse is a promise. A promise of a Helper that will be sent after Jesus leaves that will comfort them in their pursuit of following out Christ's kingdom mission. Read John 14-16 to see Jesus' encouragement to his followers with the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Why The Trinity Matters

The concept of God being one God in three persons is something we will not be able to fully wrap our minds around. But as mentioned above, the understanding of and the reliance upon this critical doctrine is necessary to godly living and faithful fruitfulness.

Redemption happens because God the Father is planning and purposing it for us. He has adopted us as Sons and has shown us a profound love that only a Father can give. He is the Almighty and the Alpha and Omega. He has accomplished our redemption through the Son. Jesus was sent by the Father to dawn human flesh and walk among us. He lived a full and perfect life so that we might see his example and be clothed in his righteousness. The Son's work was done to glorify the Father and he is now interceding for us with the Father on our behalf. We can approach his throne with confidence knowing he has been tempted just as we have, being fully man and practically relatable. But God did not leave us alone after the resurrection. At the moment of salvation he has filled us with his Spirit. This means that when we are lonely or defeated or discouraged, we have the living God of the universe inside of us, willing and working for his good pleasure.

There is no greater promise or encouragement in all of Scripture than the glorious doctrine of the Trinity.