Something to Stand On this Christmas

 

Often around this time we reflect about the wonder of giving gifts.  The beauty of life.  The hope of human kind.  Those things are all good, but as I am sure that you know, they will never satisfy our deepest need.  Our true hearts cry for something real. For something more.  For something we can stand on.

Remember that this time of the year is not just about a baby.  I mean it is about a baby, but that is not all it’s about.  Contemplate the tiny hands of that baby and how when they got a little older, those hands held the grip of a hammer.  After all, His earthly father was a carpenter by trade, and more than likely, Jesus would have started to pick up some of those skills.  But don’t stop there either.

Think about the weight of that hammer.  Not the physical weight, but the meaning of what it did.  As He gripped it, do you wonder if He contemplated His future?  Did He contemplate the pain?  Did He remember you and me?  For it was not just a hammer that held His hands to the cross, but it was our sins.  It wasn’t just the nails, but it was our total defiance against a holy and righteous God.  For we were the ones who declared Him our enemy.

You see how this Christmas story is so much more than a baby.  So much more than a manger, barn, stars, hammer, nails and a cross.  It is all of those – but most importantly, it’s God giving Himself for His enemies.  Giving Himself for us.  As Jesus was growing up, teaching, living out the very Word of God in the flesh, He had His enemies in mind.  You and I.

This Christmas, don’t just stop at the babe in the manger.  Take it all in.  You need to.  For in the whole story of His life – His birth, life, death, resurrection, His kingly reign – this is where you and I can find true hope.  True peace.  Something to stand on for sure.