At our Christmas Day service, we looked at two truths which Christ’s arrival on earth teaches us: that God is in control and that God is with us.
The fact that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:7) makes us wonder if God is in control; we certainly would not want our child to be born in those circumstances! But Isaiah reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are not the same as ours (Is 55:8-9) and Paul tells us that Christ came at exactly God’s set time (Gal 4:4). This reminds us that even when life does not look to be going our way, God is still in sovereign control, working His will out through every situation. God doesn’t do things our way – the cross demonstrates that even more plainly than Christ’s birth (see 1 Cor 1:18-25) – but that doesn’t mean He is not Lord. (Rom 8;28)
Linus, in the Peanuts cartoon, used to carry a blue security blanket everywhere with Him. The blanket gave him a feeling of safety and reassurance.
Christmas reminds us of the security blanket of God’s love, given to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of His names – Immanuel – reminds us that God is with us. We may feel forsaken and abandoned by God at times, but the truth is that the Lord is near (Phil 4:5) and Christmas means we never have to go through life alone again; Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. (Heb 13:5) Paul reminds us that nothing can now separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:35-39). God took on human flesh and shared our humanity in the person of Jesus Christ so that we never have to be alone again.
God is always working things out. He is always there. No matter how great the darkness, no matter how deep the pain, God is still on His throne, still working all things together for good, still triumphing over evil, even when evil rears its ugly head again and again. And God is always with us, always Immanuel, always there with His blanket of love and comfort and hope and joy and peace, to wrap us up tightly and sing over us songs of love. (Zeph 3:17)
