Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:9-14 (NKJV)
Here we are once again. It’s Christmas.
A Child is born.
Around the world everywhere this morning, the sunlight will flicker across the eyelids of children of all ages as they awake. And they will awake excited. Their tiny voices will begin to ring throughout their homes, excited about what Santa Claus and others left the night before—packages, filled stockings, new toys and things to eat.
And our two granddaughters will awake in a moment filled with an excitement unmatched by all the other mornings in their lives. Which is how it should be for them, and for children everywhere like them, and for “children” like you and like me. And so we will read scriptures appropriate for the day, eat breakfast, and open presents nestled under and around the tree.
It will be a grand and wonderful morning.
A Child is born.
But what of tomorrow morning and the next day, and the day after, the next week, and the months to follow? Will we feel that same excitement as our lives unfold and the world spins? Will we feel that same sense of wonder as this morning?
Because it may be that a loved one will still be sick. A friend or life-long companion will still be gone. Our job may be uncertain, and we know the bills will still be dropped off by the mail carrier regardless of the weather. Will we feel that same sense of wonder and excitement the next day, and in the days to come as we do on this Christmas morning?
And in the midst of it all our answer must be—yes.
A Child is born.
What was a dream, and a promise, an illusion almost, seven hundred years earlier as the Prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of the Christ child, became real as the sunlight peeked into a humble manger in the little town of Bethlehem. Luke recorded the occurrence of that moment in his Gospel. It was a moment which changed history two thousand years ago. No beautifully wrapped presents, or stockings, no gathering of thousands to cheer the moment, no Santa Claus or reindeer. Just a mother and a father, a few shepherds, barnyard animals, some wise men, and an angel—and the Christ child.
A Child is born.
And that birth ushered into the world an excitement, not just for that day, not just for Christmas days to follow that we set aside to celebrate that birth, but for every day all year long. With that birth so long ago came the reason for the excitement we should wake with, not only on Christmas morning today, but on every day of our lives. Because with that birth came hope. Eternal Hope.
A Child is born.
With that birth of so long ago came a hope we will never find in big bank accounts, or cars, national championships, Super Bowls, NBA rings, houses, careers or resumes on our walls. But with that birth, the walls of doubt in our lives give way to a hope that promises a brand new day, every day. A hope that promises life, security, peace and love for today and for all eternity through a personal relationship with the Babe of Bethlehem—Jesus Christ.
It’s reflected in these words of a song sung by Il Divo. Listen for the excitement, embrace the promise—
A ray of hope flickers in the sky, a tiny star lights up way up high,
All across the land, dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass when a Child is born…
And the walls of doubt crumble dust and torn,
This comes to pass when a Child is born.
It’s all a dream, an illusion now,
It must come true, sometime soon, somehow,
All across the land, dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass when a Child is born,
This comes to pass when a Child is born.
I know our girls are stirring. Shortly we’ll hear their excited voices penetrating the air at our front door.
A Child is born.
Hope is on the way. Hope is on the throne. Hope which began in a manger is still creating an undercurrent of excitement for each morning, for each day, and for each breath of our lives.
A Child is born.
And that moment so many years ago—that birth—became the reason for all the excitement for every day of the rest of our lives, for you and for me, for our children and grandchildren, Godchildren and for all the world.
Merry Christmas. A Child is born.
Amen and Amen.
In His Name—Scott
