Having been out for some last minute Christmas shopping last night at Braehead Shopping Centre it struck me how sad it is if the only thing we take away from Christmas is a pile of presents received and an overdraft for the presents given.
Great though the festivities are, they are worthless compared to knowing Jesus Christ.
Christmas Eve is a strange day. The last day of advent. The final day of anticipation. And yet it is strange. Strange to be anticipating the birth of a child that already happened two thousand years ago. Yet in a sense isn't that what we do each year? Really we're only anticipating the day of celebration of it, but as we do that in some way we do go back to Bethlehem and imagine the events we read about every year in the Gospels.
And aren't we filled with that sense of awe and wonder and thankfulness that "He came down to earth from heaven / who is God and Lord of all." What greater love could God show for us? "Sacred infant, all divine / what a tender love was thine / thus to come from highest bliss / down to such a world as this."
Tonight, in the freezing cold and the darkness, all over the country, all over the world, his followers will gather once again to mark the start of his birthday celebrations. If you can manage, why not go along yourself to a church near you and join in later today?
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