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Advent: Discover the Reality of Jesus' Birth
KALAMAZOO, MI (December 8, 2005) - Editor's note: In preparation for the
Christmas observance, Covenant Communications is sharing devotionals
that originally appeared in local Covenant church newsletters and are
being published here by permission. The following comes from pastor John
Kepler of Kalamazoo Covenant Church.
By John Kepler
Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the
events that have been filled among us . . . (Luke 1:1)
So begins Luke's gospel as it unfolds the story of Jesus Christ in his
particular style of writing. Isn't it typical for a physician to want to
give an "orderly account?" In fact, Luke mentions it twice in the
opening five verses.
His narrative gives us the most complete of the two accounts of Christ's
birth, providing details of the common, human touch and the miraculous.
The good Doctor Luke sees Jesus as "fulfillment," as God's promised
action to provide humanity with a final gift for their salvation. His
gospel is filled with the humanity of Jesus more than any other . . .
God reaching out to touch their lives.
During the Advent and Christmas seasons, perhaps we need an orderly
account of things for our lives - perhaps we need a fulfillment of our
own. It is terribly easy to be side-tracked during this time of the
year. It is easy to let fun divert us away from a true sense of joy. It
is easy to let purchased gifts replace the gift of Christ. It is all too
easy to place worship at the end of the list of things to do. It is easy
to replace Luke's ordered account of the first Christmas with the more
modern stories of Santa, Christmas trees, family traditions, and the
constant refrain, "It's such a busy time of the year" . . . (translated:
chaos).
Christmas may be about the birth of a child, but it was never intended
to center on our children to the extent our culture has manufactured it.
In fact, Christmas Day wasn't established until the Fourth Century, and
the holiday didn't start emerging toward what it is today until the
Nineteenth Century (many point the finger at English writer Charles
Dickens).
Let me encourage you this Christmas to find that ordered account for
your life and to put it at the top of your list. Be drawn into the
magnificence, the simplicity, the life-changing reality of the birth of
Jesus Christ.
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