Our Daily Bread: The Hope of Christmas Sample

Father Christmas. “Daddy, did they have a lot of snow at Christmas when you were little?” my four-year-old asked as we drove through gently falling flakes on the way to church. “No,” I replied. “We didn’t have any snow.” Before I could remind him of my upbringing in West Africa, he piped up with the perfect explanation. “I know why, Daddy. It’s because you are older than snow!” I think it was Tuesday when my wife finally stopped laughing. Fathers may seem infinitely ancient to their children, yet there is only one truly timeless person. Before fathers—or even time itself—existed, there was God the Father. Now consider this: the Baby we celebrate at Christmas grew up to say, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30). That is the real power of the Christmas story! Paul writes of Jesus, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation” (Col. 1:15). Jesus has preeminence over everything because “everything was created through him and for him” (v. 16). Christmas can seem to be so stressful, which isn’t helpful to us. Let’s pause a moment to reflect on the One who created snow and who gave us little children to enhance the season with joy, perspective, and laughter.  —Tim Gustafson 

At Christmas we celebrate the mystery of the timeless One entering time to rescue His creation.