By Published On: December 9th, 2021Categories: Leader Blog, Meditation for Preparation0 Comments on Christmas Through the Eyes of An Adult

Read:  Jeremiah 33:14-16

I have heard it said that Christmas is more for children than adults.  In fact, the plea to see Christmas through the eyes of a child is echoed in advertisements, modern Christmas songs, and small wooden Christmas decorations put upon fireplace mantles. Some might argue that their own personal love for Christmas resembles a “child-like” joy with overwhelming enthusiasm and spontaneous verbal explosions of excitement.  (I acknowledge the validity to such claims)

However, my zeal and love for this season has not diminished as I have grown older; instead, it has increased.  I do not attribute this increase to reverting back to a youthful vision of Christmas.  What fuels my joy is a deepening understanding and wonder of God demonstrating His love for me in THIS way.  My age has only served to show me how beautifully orchestrated every nuance of Christ’s arrival was.  In fact, God spoke through the prophets hundreds of years prior to Christ’s birth to make sure we knew that this was unfolding exactly as planned.  

John Piper preached a sermon from our text for this Sunday back in 1981.  Here is an excerpt from his introduction…

The main purpose of the prophets was to constantly call the people back to God—to love God and to obey his commandments. As incentives to obedience, the prophets warned that judgment comes upon the faithless and promised that salvation comes to the faithful. These three things made up the prophetic message: commands to forsake evil and follow God in righteousness; warnings of coming judgments; and promises of hope. We should never forget that everything the prophets predicted about the future was always intended to produce obedience in the present. If it was true (last week, 1 Samuel 12:7, 25) that Samuel pleaded the past for the sake of the present, it is just as true (this week) that the prophets plead the future for the sake of the present. If the study of prophecy does not produce sanctification, it is being studied wrong. If gazing into the future hinders our responsiveness to present needs, we may be sure that we are not gazing with the eyes of God.

This is why my love for Christmas grows with age. Gazing at God’s past, present, and future promises fulfilled in Christ affects my present.  It shapes my current worldview.  It brings clarity, hope, peace, and joy to December 2021.

As we prepare to hear Jeremiah’s prophecy this Sunday, remember that this is not just a promise that finds its fulfillment in Christ’s birth, but one that is meant to fuel your sanctification and make you a better disciple now.  As we gather this Sunday, I pray that you would experience the true joy of Christmas in bigger, brighter, and more vivid ways than ever before.