In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -John 1:1-5

For those of us who are followers of Christ, we understand the importance of Christmas. We know it’s an occasion to celebrate Christ’s birth and be joyful. As a child, being joyful about Christmas was definitely not a problem for me. Christmas meant new toys, so there was plenty of reason to be joyful–even if it was mainly for material things. But now as an adult, I’ve been fighting a battle in my heart about the lack of anticipation I feel at Christmas. Where is the near palpable sense of Christmas anticipation I had when I was a child? I want to feel that same sense of anticipation in a way that does not involve material things, but is that even possible?

We know the real reason we celebrate Christmas is because Christ came to take the punishment for our sin so we could be friends with God again. The ancient Jews were foretold of the Messiah who would come and free mankind from sin and restore His Kingdom, and they waited for Him for hundreds and hundreds of years. Now that is anticipation!

You would think that when the Light of the World, King Jesus, finally came to earth, the darkness would be obliterated. Like moving the sun into your basement, you would think there wouldn’t be a single shadow to speak of when the long-awaited Messiah entered the world. The ancient Jews felt this way, too. They had groaned under physical and governmental oppression for so long that by the time Jesus came, they were expecting something else entirely. They wanted William Wallace, but they got a carpenter’s kid in sandals.

So 2000 years after Christ came, I find myself asking God why The Light didn’t end the darkness. “Where is the God who was promised to bring peace and free the slaves and end the tears? Where is He? I do not see Him on the evening news. Did His coming make a difference?”

And that is just the thing. We don’t see Him. Jesus was not like William Wallace because His Kingdom is not an earthly one. Jesus is a spiritual King of a spiritual Kingdom. The work He did on earth was sometimes physical: He changed water into wine, healed the sick, and gave sight to the blind. But when people came to Him in droves to be healed, He healed a few of them and then switched gears and taught people the real reason why He came. He taught about how sin had separated them from God like a chasm splits two sides of a cliff and that He was there to build a bridge across that chasm…”Come, follow me.”

So as I laid in bed one morning reflecting on all this with tears in my eyes, I remembered my vow to do as the Messiah has asked…I followed Him, and I follow Him still, albeit waveringly. And because of His great grace, my salvation is secure and I am saved eternally. And I will see Him.

So with that said, it became clear where my anticipation should be. Today–and especially on Christmas–I celebrate a Savior who not only came to show love but died to defeat sin. And He not only died to defeat sin, but He rose to defeat death. And He not only rose to defeat death, but He also went to prepare a place for me to rest from this wicked world once it is over. And as surely as He went to prepare a place for me, He will surely return to pick me up for the party.

Man, I can’t wait for that!

So in that thought alone, I find a tremendous sense of anticipation that outweighs even my materialistic, Christmas-Eve sleeplessness from my childhood. At Christmas, I celebrate the birth of a King, the death of a Savior, the resurrection of a God, the return of a Conqueror, and an eternity spent with my loving Father who redeemed me when my heart was a hopeless wreck.

Jesus did not come to obliterate the darkness in this world. He came to obliterate it in the next one. Before Jesus came, we lived in pitch blackness. When He came, he lit a candle that cut through the darkness and served to cast a little light in that pitch black world. And just that little light is enough to help me see for now. It did not end the darkness, but it made all the difference. And now, my great Christmas anticipation is not found in the fact that He came, but in how the manger serves as a reminder that He will return.

Praise be to Jesus Christ, the God who saves!

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