I'll start with Jesus. Every year I see the "reason for the season" statuses and go to the Christmas Eve service and listen to the Christmas story, but this was the first year I truly felt like I was celebrating Jesus' birthday and not just some holiday filled with pretty lights, good food, happy music, and lots of gifts. This was the first year I fully appreciated what Christ did for me and was able to comprehend, to the best of my ability, the outrageous beauty of the Christmas story. This year I didn't wake up the day after Christmas feeling disappointed because I didn't have presents to open or a party to go to, but instead I felt renewed and driven to do whatever the Lord wants of me. Once I realized that I didn't have to earn salvation and that it was a gift that I am so undeserving of, I stopped wanting to do good works for selfish reasons but instead to give back as much as I could to my savior, because He did so much for me. And hearing the Christmas story with this new attitude made me all the more zealous about following the Lord. So here's the main things I got out of the Christmas Eve service...
God chose to come to earth in the form of a human, 100% God and 100% man. Jesus was as holy as God, yet could feel sorrow, pain, treachery, temptation, and every other feeling that a human feels. He did this so He could identify with us. Hebrews 2:18 says "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
But wait, it gets better...He didn't come in the form of just any human, He was born unto the poorest of the poor. He's the almighty God for crying out loud; He could have been born in a palace or at least in a motel room, but instead He was born unto a 13-year-old girl in a manger without even a blanket; He had to be wrapped in cloth. The fact that He was even born as a baby is crazy! He could have just come to the earth as a full-grown man and be sacrificed right away, but instead He chose to be delivered as a baby and go through childhood then adolescence then adulthood. Jesus did all of this so He could identify with us; so He could understand what it's like to walk the earth as a human and go through the stages of life. He could have been rich or at least not in poverty, but He was willing to be poor just so He could identify with not only the wealthy or the average, but also the needy. He chose to be a baby and go through life as a human so He could not only identify with 30-year-olds but also children and teenagers. He chose to go through one of the most excruciating types of death possible just to prove His immense love for us.
I don't know about y'all but hearing all of this definitely humbled me and brought tears to my eyes! How great is our God? And because He died that horrific death, paying the price for our sins, we have the chance at a genuinely intimate relationship with Him. I was so grateful to be able to spend time with the savior who is above all things on His birthday and everyday of my life.
And now onto Hannah (who has the flu and it's her birthday tomorrow, please pray for the poor soul!). Anyway, I had the joy of becoming close friends with Hannah last year and do not thank God enough for her! Her testimony as a whole is amazing, but any little story she has to share about something God has done in her life is such a joy to hear! She is a constant reminder to me that age does not matter when it comes to following God, because she is one of the wisest people I know, young or old! Her ability to hear God and be totally obedient to Him is incredible and her positive attitude about everything in life is so rare. She is one of those people that does not take a day for granted and rarely lets things get her down. Without her encouragement and advice, I can honestly say I wouldn't be where I am today! There's so much more I could say about her but I think I've summed it up pretty well!
Happy Birthday to Jesus and to Hannah and Merry (late) Christmas to everybody else! My prayer is that you will all realize God's glory and accept the most beautiful gift of all time, your salvation through Jesus Christ!
Sweet Hannah :)
My family on Christmas Eve
White Christmas
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