“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
Isaiah 45:22-24
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Matthew 2:11
Glory to God the King! I praise you, God, and bow down to you in thankfulness for your covenant with us! Your promise to deliver us, through your son Jesus, is the great gift for all mankind.
It has really hit home to me this year about the idols so many of us rely on for strength and deliverance. We cling to our routines. We put our trust in government officials. We place our joy in dining out, going to the movies, gathering with friends. Our peace rests in financial security. And God comes and reminds us that no idol can bring us any of these. He is God and there is no other.
In a God-like way it’s perfect that we can see a light at the end of this pandemic as vaccines begin rolling out and we celebrate the birth of His son. God is the savior of Babylon – for those who believe. And yet so many, even Christians, fail to truly grab a hold of this truth.
I was talking with my BSGs the other day about the “spirit of Christmas” and how many rely on an outside source to descend upon them for this feeling. My own parents sit alone in their home without any sign of Christmas to be seen. I asked my mother the other day why that was. And her response was, “We just don’t have any Christmas spirit this year.” Now granted, they aren’t Christians either. They are just two of millions across the globe who have chosen not to bow down and accept God as the Almighty. One of the BSGs describes her brother’s family in much the same way. They wait to be lifted by the outside world. They wait to feel joy in the material. They wait to find peace in routine.
It made me realize how, once I accepted Jesus as our deliverer, I no longer need idols to feel “saved.” I no longer need idols to experience the joy of Christmas. My “spirit of Christmas” comes from above and within and I’ve been holding on tightly to that gift.
We are such comfort-seeking souls! I think of a soldier at war during Christmas. Laying in a foxhole or cave in a foreign land. There’s no twinkly lights or Christmas tree laden with gifts. There’s no Christmas ham and glazed carrots. There’s just cold, and the distant sounds of gunfire. And yet, the Christmas spirit still is there – in the small pocket Bible or the verses kept close to his heart.
This Christmas is not unusual in that there is strife in the world. This Christmas is not unusual that many are in dire financial need. This Christmas is the same as it was on that day that Christ was born – He has come to be our deliverer. That’s all the Christmas spirit I need.
emboldened.net 