Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
We are just one week from Christmas and people all over the world are excited! We look forward to next Monday when we will wake up to see what Santa has brought! Even if most people don’t really believe in Santa Claus, we love the idea. A man who, once a year, puts on his red suit, and loads up his bag with toys and presents for all (all who are on the nice list!).
Christians also are excited about Christmas. We may enjoy Santa also, but we know that Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born long enough ago that we don’t know for certain what the actual date of His birth was, but December 25th has been the date we use. Jesus was born not through some accident or happenstance. He was born with a purpose. The real reason we have Christmas is that we might have Easter! Jesus came to a manger in Bethlehem that He might die on a cross outside Jerusalem.
But why? (And why bring it up now?) That’s the good news! He went to the cross to pay the penalty for my sin and yours. Our sins caused a tremendous debt that we could never pay. In that regard, they were a burden that, without some outside help, we would carry, weighed down more and more until we died. But Jesus came to carry that weight!
We can come to Jesus and give Him our burdens (our sins) confident that He will carry them for us. And He doesn’t carry that load just one night out of the year! He daily bears our burdens! When I was little, I made a list for Santa of all the things I believed would make me happy. But I knew that he wasn’t going to bring them all and that I had to live up to his standard.
Jesus came to be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. He is Immanual - God with us. Jesus offers His blessings to all who would come to Him. In fact, if you’re on the naughty list, He especially would like to help you! Santa is pretty neat, but only a fun idea. Jesus is the Son of God, He did come 2000 years ago, and He is coming again! Until then He offers daily burden bearing to all who are interested!
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
