The Characters of Christmas: A Five-Day DevotionalSample

God’s plan was to create a world of beauty and wonder and artistry, a world that He originally created for us, His creatures. He “saw that it was good” (Gen 1:31). But something terrible happened. Humans rebelled against their Creator and thus brought something into the world that marred God’s creation and snuffed out His light. Sin. This is why the world has light, but also is shadowed by darkness and despair. 

But thankfully the story doesn’t end with darkness, but with the invasion of light. The enemy thought he had defeated God, but in the opening pages of Genesis, God revealed His plan to redeem mankind again and bring light into a darkened world.

From the fall in the garden down through the ages, God promised His people that He would send a Messiah, a Redeemer who would be that Light, not only to the Jewish people, whom He had called out to be a light, but also to the entire world. 

But centuries passed. God’s chosen people Israel continued down a path of disobedience and failure. They were captured by other nations and scattered. But God’s promises of a Messiah still held true.

Then, after four hundred years of silence, God’s plan of redemption began to unfold. He first appeared to Zechariah and to Elizabeth and promised them a son in their old age. The angel said that their son, John the Baptist, would be a forerunner, someone who wasn’t the light, but would reflect the light of the Messiah. 

Then the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary first and then to Joseph and shared the news that the Messiah would indeed be born—of the Virgin Mary. The story Luke (and Matthew and John and Isaiah and others) told is that this baby in the manger was no ordinary child. Jesus Christ was both God and Man in the flesh. And He would be a light not only for the Jewish people, but a Light for everyone. The world is depressingly dark these days—as it was on that first Christmas. But in Jesus, we see the light that dawned and has overcome the darkness. 

If you enjoyed this 5-day devotional reading plan,  continue to get to know the minor characters in the Christmas story with my new book: The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus.