Celebrating the Unseen
What a wonderful time of year! The air is crisp, there is some white fluffy
stuff on the ground (well at least in the mountains), and everywhere we look we
see signs of Christmas. It is hard to
believe it is already December again, isn't it?
Last night, Stephanie and I set up our Christmas tree, we have begun to
listen to Christmas music, and we are contemplating what Christmas traditions
we want to continue and to start as a family.
Aren't traditions neat?
Traditions, when they’re done right, help us look both backward and
forward – they make us think about the past and times we've practiced these
same “traditions” before. They bind our
families together because traditions are something we share. Also, they build the anticipation and
expectation for something that’s coming.
Christmas traditions, many at least, build up to the big celebration of
Christ’s birth. Granted, there may be
some traditions in our families and certainly in our culture, that take away
from the true meaning, but when we’re intentional about preserving the
traditions that focus on Christ and make the season of his birth extra special
and extra meaningful, I think we’re doing a good thing. Some cover every surface of their homes –
inside and out – with lights and tinsel.
Some decorate multiple Christmas trees in various themes. Others set a simple nativity scene in the
center of their coffee table. Whatever
your traditions may be, they likely make this time of year, this season of
celebrating Christ’s birth in a dusty stable, to a humble virgin, something set
apart, something extra special and different from all the other times of the
year.
I think traditions help us slow down and remember. We are so forgetful and busy that we need
something to take our minds off of everyday life and redirect us to remember. I know it works for me. When I hear familiar old Christmas songs I
instantly have warm memories of spending time as a family setting up our
Christmas tree, reading the Nativity story together, going to the Christmas Eve
candle light services, and waking up to breakfast and gifts on Christmas
morning.
I also think traditions and physical tangible reminders help
us think about that which is unseen. One of the attributes that we know about our
God is that He is invisible.
Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen (1 Tim. 1:17, NIV).
God
is always with us, but we can’t see him.
Said another way, He can see us but we cannot see Him. Hagar realized this in Genesis 16:13, after
God saw her need and trouble, she called Him “The God who sees.” When we celebrate what He has done,
especially in the birth of His Son, we can remember that he is always with us
even though we cannot physically see or touch Him.
One wonderful and mysterious truth about Christmas is the
invisible God made Himself visible to us through the person of Jesus Christ. “Jesus is the embodiment of the invisible God”.[i] Jesus came from heaven to earth and showed us
what the invisible God is like, and who He is.
As we read in the Bible, the testimony of Jesus, we get to look at God,
and we get to know exactly what He wants us to know about who He is (John
1:1-18, Heb. 1:1-3).
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Col. 1:15, NIV).
As
we continue our traditions, and celebrate Christmas this season let us ponder
that our God is invisible, that he always is near and always sees us. Let us also remember that God did not leave us when Jesus’ time on
earth was completed. If you recall, He
also promised us that He would send His Spirit to be with and in His children to help, teach, comfort and lead us at all
times (John 14:15-27, 15:26, 16:5-16; Phil. 1:19).
Let us not allow
our traditions to become dead rituals, but let us remember that God is with us,
and that we are celebrating the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God, who
took upon flesh, uniting Himself with humanity for all time in order to humbly
and lovingly redeem His Creation. We do
not see Him now, but soon we will see Him face to face!
“1 In the past God spoke to our
ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The
Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:1-3 NIV).
“14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into
heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we
profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who
is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been
tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let
us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16,
NIV).
~Trev
[i]
For a short and inlighting post about God’s invisible attributes check out Ed
Welch’s Blog at http://www.ccef.org/blog/good-news-god-invisible
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