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A CHRISTMAS MEDITATION

WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS – 2

The previous meditation focused on ‘waiting for Christmas’ from the human point of view, as people of faith from Abel onwards lived their lives for God, suffered for God, died for God, waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promises – waiting for the promised salvation, waiting for Christmas.

This week’s meditation goes back beyond that human hope, that human waiting for Christmas, to God himself, God in his eternal existence before the world began. It was back then, back before the creation of the world, back before time began, that God planned Christmas.

Let us look at some scriptures:

1Corinthians 2:7 speaks of ‘God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began’. Colossians 1:27 and 2:2 teaches us that Christ is ‘the mystery of God’ that was ‘kept hidden for ages and generations, but now disclosed to the saints’.

2Timothy 1:9,10 says that ‘This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus …’

Titus 1:2 speaks of ‘the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at the appointed season he brought his word to light …’

Ephesians 1:4 states that those who believe in Christ were ‘chosen in him before the creation of the world’.

1Peter 1:19,20 teaches that ‘Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect … was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times …’

And Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as ‘the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.’

God had been waiting for Christmas from before the beginning of time, from before the world began.

We sing of God’s ‘amazing grace’ little realizing how amazing it really is. This grace is here, way back before the beginning of time, way back before the world began. God’s grace is here in eternity, planning our salvation through Christ his Son, planning the good news of the Gospel, before he created us, before we sinned. God, in eternity, planned Christmas. God, in eternity, planned for our salvation through his Son, even before we or the universe existed. God, since eternity, had been waiting for Christmas.

Then God made Christmas come … as the verses above state about the advent of Jesus Christ:

Christmas … is ‘now disclosed to the saints’.

Christmas … ‘has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus’.

Christmas … in which God ‘at the appointed season … brought his word to light’.

Christmas … was ‘revealed in these last times’.

‘When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman …’ [Galatians 4:4]. That which ‘for ages past was kept hidden in God’ [Ephesians 3:9] was made known [Ephesians 3:2-11]. This purpose of God, this gift of God, planned for our salvation before time began.

The child was born.

The Son was given.

Jesus came … Christmas that was planned from eternity came.

The one Gift, the greatest Gift, the Gift that includes all of God’s gifts, was given.

© Rosemary Bardsley 2014, 2020