Merry Christmas

"And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."

    ~Luke 2:21 

What better name for our Savior than "Yahweh, the Lord, is my salvation," for, as Matthew recounts to us, "he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).

He was given this name. This name that testifies to who He is. This name that would become the most famous name in history, known to all generations. All the names which have characterized God throughout Scripture--Jehovah Ezer, The LORD my help, Jehovah Rapha, the LORD Who heals, and so many more--and God takes on a new name, Jesus, the LORD is my salvation.

Before His conception, He was named and purposed. He was intended, as are we all, though His was for a far greater purpose. And on the day of circumcision, He stepped into that name and the fullness it would bring the world. 

I don't often sit in what Christmas means to those who mourn. I know it's a time of hope and that Jesus stepped into our suffering, but it's different when we tangibly consider that suffering. When I look at 2023, I see so many people I care about enduring immense suffering. The kind of suffering we would avoid at all costs. But Jesus didn't avoid it. He didn't merely take the risk of stepping into a broken world, He stepped into the deepest suffering we could ever know. His suffering wasn't limited to the cross though; He didn't pop in as an adult to sacrifice His life but lived a life of trials like each of us do. 

No one would ever willingly enter into suffering like that, except that He did. Because He loves us. Because we are worth it to Him. He knew the brokenness, the suffering, the trials fully, and yet He wasn't afraid to take them on so that He could be our comfort, our salvation, our reconciliation. He wanted us to be His, and so He came down into this world, into suffering, that He might choose us, restore us, show us His love, which is beyond all comprehension. 

Christmas isn't about forgetting the suffering of the world but meeting it with the hope of Jesus. It's not about being cheerful but about knowing that even when we're not, Hope has been born into the world. Jesus came to a hopeless people, a conquered people with a seemingly silent God, but the hope He left is one that penetrates both our joys and our sorrows for every moment in every generation  

However this holiday greets you, may you find peace and comfort in the Name of Jesus as we celebrate His birth today.

The picture is of some of my siblings and I looking for Baby Jesus on Christmas Day