'Tis the Season

    Hello again. I missed last weeks post, which I apologize for. There were projects and Christmas preparations that needed more immediate attention and while I could've made time for this, I got to sleep in on a couple days which was wonderful. I'm excited to see where this week leads. I hadn't been saying "merry Christmas" to anyone because I hadn't realized how close we actually were to the holiday. Surprise! it's in four days. I'm looking forward to it but I'm even more thrilled to be headed to Atlanta the first week of January to go the the Passion conference. I've had my ticket since July and genuinely cannot wait. I'm going with some of my favorite people and we're spending an extra day there to see the sights, but what I'm looking forward to most is the conference. Some of my favorite speakers will be there, there will be worship, and it's specialized for people my age. 

    I've always been in church. With my dad a theology buff and my mum obsessed with apologetics, I don't think I could ever doubt God's existence or even my need for Him. Between last year and this year, I've become a lot more serious about my faith. It's personal, not just something I'm involved in because my family is and therefore I always have been. However, I didn't know it would be this hard. I talk all the time about surrender and dying to oneself because that's the vocabulary Paul uses to describe what it really means to follow Jesus. If you've been here for any length of time, you know that's something I struggle with. That's why I'm so excited for this opportunity to go to Atlanta. Firstly, it's a blessing to go out and do anything. Last year was miserable and I know there are still countries going in and out of lockdown. Being able to gather is such a gift. Secondly, I'm grateful for this to be a resource and a place to reinspire my walk as a Christian. I have so much to learn and a desire to grow but I'm not entirely sure where to start and figuring out on my own gives me no motivation. 

    I'm grateful for seasons like this too. In spite of all the pagan traditions and origins for Christmas, it is meant to be about Jesus. We're supposed to look for Him in the chaos and busyness but it shouldn't start and stop here. If the Christmas story was all we had, I wouldn't be here today. Jesus had to grow up. He had to study in the temple and be a part of a family. He had to grow and develop in His identity and His relationship with His Father. A baby could not have taken on the sins of the world. Without losing sight of the miracle of Christmas, this is not all there is to Christianity, to being a Christian. It's something that's there for us every day. Talking about the gravity of our sins is scary and serious. When Paul says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), he means it. When sin entered the world and we were separated from God, it wasn't just because of Adam and Eve's disobedience. It's because God couldn't dwell in a place where there was sin. That's why when Jesus dies on the cross, God has to turn away, forsaking His Son (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). We all deserve death and the grave. We deserve to go to hell and live in damnation and judgement. We talk about Jesus' death as an act of grace but it was just as much an act of judgement. He died because there was no other way. A blood sacrifice had to be made a poured out, otherwise there was no hope for true salvation. Jesus didn't just take on our sins, He took on the burden and weight of God's wrath and judgement. There's nothing we could do to be worthy of the miracle of Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection. The celebration of it cannot be contained to just two days out of three hundred and sixty five. God desires to be in relationship with us more than anything else. That's why we were created and why He paid such a high price. There's a song that I'm currently obsessed with called Underdressed by Gable Price. It's such a beautiful picture of what God has done for us by sending Jesus in the first place. 

    Jesus showed up in a way that was impossible without God and entirely unexpected. We see in Jesus' ministry that the people who knew the scriptures, the people who should have known that He was who He said He was, didn't recognize Him. How could anything good come out of Nazareth? Bethlehem? Egypt? How could a virgin be pregnant? Why wasn't He born in the royal household? That would've made more sense than a manger. God shows up in the ridiculous, in the unexpected. Jesus dined with prostitutes and tax collectors. He slept in a feeding trough because of God's justice as well as His mercy. He made a way because, more than anything He desired relationship and intimacy with us. That's something that can never make sense to me but something I will always be thankful for. 

    This is the reality of Christmas, of this season. It's enormous, I know. It doesn't make any sense for God to make a way to be with people who continually reject Him, let alone send a baby to make that possible. What we have is a miracle. 

    I hope everyone has a lovely and joyful holiday! However you celebrate, take time to remember why. Be safe and have a wonderful weekend! I will be here again, hopefully next week. If not, the next time I post will be the eleventh of January. God bless and keep you. Happy Christmas!

Yours Truly,

Rey