5 Hidden Truths of Christmas

Sometimes during this season it seems we turn our focus to the manger and leave our focus there. As I wrote in my last blog, the foundation of Christmas started way before the manger and as I will write today , PRAISE GOD, the journey did not end at the manger either.

I love the picture of the nativity and we have a nativity displayed in our living room that is one of the first Christmas decorations to go up every year. I do not say any of the following to lessen the importance of the nativity or the significant role it played.

However, as important as the nativity is, for today I would like to look at “The Journey”

The Bible sets the tone for the journey and puts Mary and Joseph on their way but we do not see any of the interaction between the two of them during this time. Typically when you see pictures you see Mary on a donkey but that is not mentioned in scripture. That does not mean it isn’t there but it also could lead us to believe that Mary had to walk as well. I cannot imagine that they were not having the same conversations that every other couple who is getting ready to have their first child has. On top of that this was no normal child, this was the Son of God, the Savior who was prophesied. I am sure they spend many hours talking about how they would ever parent such a child.

In November of 2011 my wife and I packed up our bags and moved to Germany because the Army said so. She was pregnant with our first child and he was due at the end of February. Needless to say that flight to Germany and the days leading up to it were filled with questions, fears, worries, and stress just like the feelings I am sure were faced by Mary and Joseph. After a long plane ride we landed in Germany and were exhausted. My poor wife’s feet were swollen and you could see the exhaustion on her face. You can only imagine how excited she was when we arrived on base and were immediately told that there was no room for us in the Army lodging so we would have to stay in a German hotel. Thankfully, this was a very nice hotel and not a manger but everything was in German (including the restaurant). By the time we settled in it was after midnight and we were in a foreign country in a foreign hotel with no car and no phones and we knew exactly one person at this point.

We were very thankful for that hotel and although the 32 days we spent there waiting on our apartment to be ready felt like it at times, it was not the end of our journey. The same can be said for the manger; it was a vital part of the journey but it was not the final destination.

So I will leave you with these 5 truths about Christmas:

1. The Garden of Eden and The Fall of Man is the true Foundation of Christmas (Previous Blog) 2. We (SINNERS) are the reason for the season (Previous Blog)

3. Mary and Joseph were imperfect humans so we must consider the toll this journey placed on them both physically and emotionally.

4. The manger was not the end of the road; merely a checkpoint that had to be passed through.

5. Just as Christmas did not begin on the manger it does not end there either. The story of Christmas ends with Christ fulfilling his purpose and paying the death price for our sins.

Without sin there would not be a need for the birth. Without the birth then there would have been no death to pay the price.

Without death the birth would have had no purpose.

This Christmas Season remember Jesus and celebrate Him but remember that your sins are why He had to come. Be thankful this season and what it means and spread the joy of God wherever you go.

Merry Christmas.