The Adventures of Christmas Esimerkki

December 25th

Merry Christmas, my friend. Thank you for allowing me to go on this ADVENTure with you this holiday season. At Christmas time, it's traditional to give gifts away. No one hands out the most special gift first. We always save the BIG gift for last.

I remember the year my Grandpa bought my Grandma a Cadillac. He managed to hide it in the garage with a giant bow on it. She was “Oprah’s greatest things” excited. But he didn’t give her the car until all of the other presents had been unwrapped. The coffee mug that looked like an ashtray that I made in art class would have seemed a whole lot less exciting if she had to unwrap that after the car. You can’t even pretend to be excited about a home made gift at that point.

In a wedding, the last one to come down the aisle is the bride. The groom goes out first because, let’s be honest, they are the least important. For the Fourth of July, we don't start with the grand finale and end with sparklers.

At Christmas, God gave his greatest gift. He saved the best for last. After sending 42 kings and 1 queen to Israel, God sent the King of Kings. If you were to ask the Israelites who the greatest King was, they would have answered with David. They experienced the golden age under his rule. For many of them, they talked as if the best days were in the rearview mirror. They always talked in the past tense. “Do you remember when David was on the throne?” They had no idea that God was saving the best for last.

How does heaven celebrate Christmas? Do they decorate the mansions? “I put a real angel on top of my tree y’all!” Do they exchange gifts amongst themselves? Do they sing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree? Do they drink eggnog? No, I said this was heaven. They fall down on their knees in worship because they realize God saved the best gift for last.

Christmas doesn’t make life perfect, but it makes heaven possible. It’s not the birth of this child that fixes everything, but it is through the birth of this child that everything will.

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