Nancy Taylor Tate
Looking back over the Christmases I’ve had through the years, it’s a season that I love.
As a child, it was going to my grandmother’s house. How I loved my grandmother! The tree, with the train set and little village underneath. A good home-cooked meal and some gifts. Then there were the years we drove to Florida, with the little decorative tree I would put in our motel room, so we could be with my parents and other family on Christmas day.
Beyond that, Christmases varied for me and no specific traditions developed. There were years when there was the excitement of gifts; there were years when there were no gifts. Times when there were decorations, lights, and glitter; times when there were none. Times when there was snow; times when I was in warm weather. Times when we sang Christmas carols and had hot chocolate and cookies; times when it was only the song in my heart that sang.
Whether it was celebrating with family or friends or having Christmas alone, as I look back, all of those years were special and are now fond memories for me. For though my Christmas activities have varied through the years, one thing has been consistent: the celebration of Christ and the worship that fills my heart.
As we prepare for Christmas this year, I recognize that no matter what we do or don’t do, this is a special time of year. “O come let us adore Him” is a simple little Christmas song that expresses the theme I always want, regardless of circumstance, in every Christmas of mine.
Truths that we celebrate, foundational to our faith, are the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and His death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming. These truths fulfill prophecies in the Old Testament.
Jesus is the Eternal Son of God. His preexistence is clear in scripture.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1–2
Jesus came and was manifest in the flesh to reveal the invisible God.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
God’s desire is that we might know Him.
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” John 14:9
The Word is to become a personal reality in our lives. As we apply the Word to our life circumstances, it becomes experientially ours, bringing a visible testimony that others can see.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life…that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us…” 1 John 1:1, 3
Jesus came willingly to earth, in the form of humanity, to pay the price of sin for man.
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:6–8
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3
My dad, Wade Taylor, wrote this on the homepage of his website, the website which we continue today:
“The eternal ‘Word’ is the greatest revelation that God could ever give to man – the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin and dwelt among us in condescension as ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’”
However you may be celebrating this year, may we celebrate Christ! May it be a time of adoration, praise, and worship as we consider God’s great love for us and what Jesus did for us on the cross. May we live in the fullness of His love, today, and for all eternity.
May the Lord bless you this Christmas as we celebrate Him! And as we approach the new year, may He bless you as never before.