Life tends to disappoint. No matter how hard we try to find fulfillment—through romance, success, religion or simple distractions—we inevitably face frustration, loss and death’s dark shadow. We cope as best we can, but deep down, there is a profound disconnect we cannot shake. We sense that we were made for more.
The Christmas story speaks powerfully into this struggle. It tells of a Savior who came to lift life’s curse and fill our deepest longings. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he bridged the gap between God and man once and for all. By taking God’s Son, we gain eternal life starting now. The key to enduring life’s pains is found in this child in a manger who came to defeat sin and death. He holds the missing piece to our search for purpose and peace.
The message of Christmas reminds us that with Christ, we have everything, despite the inevitable losses we will face. Our perspective changes when our lives are anchored in eternity. There comes a point when we can finally cease the coping mechanisms, complaining and pity parties. Hardship remains, but hope and meaning need not elude us. Not when we have the Son.
- We feel alienated from God due to sin. This is the root of life’s frustration and meaninglessness.
- God gave his Son Jesus to die for our sins and restore our relationship with God. When we have Jesus, we have peace with God.
- Getting “the Son” means getting it all. Eternal life starts now when you have Jesus. Your perspective changes when your life is rooted in eternity.
As we wind down another Christmas season, filled with its usual joys and stresses, let us pause to consider the radical invitation embodied in this remarkable story. Amid all life’s surface glitz and cheer, an empty manger calls to the emptiness inside each of us. Here lies the promise of imperishable hope, undying purpose, and supernatural peace.
What will it take for us to finally cease the coping strategies that never satisfy? How much longer will we chase illusions before embracing the reality of Christ? He holds out the missing piece, yet we compulsively look to lesser saviors.
Let the wonder and mystery of incarnation rouse something deep within. God is not aloof from our suffering. In Jesus, he enters into it, in order to lift us out of it. And by some glorious paradox, choosing the way of the manger leads to the way of the crown. When we take the Son, we gain it all – including the defeat of all that plagues us.
Christmas reminds us it is time to anchor our lives in eternity and live like it is so. The next move is ours. Will we take the child and let him take us?
