3 (more) Ways to Praise This Christmas
Preparing for what should be a joyous season can feel flat and draining.
On the heels of Thanksgiving, a flurry blows in of Christmas decorations, movies (most of which say nothing of Jesus), and Black Friday sales, not to mention gift list panic.
We know Jesus is the Reason for the Season and we try with all our might to keep Him above the crashing waves of commercialism.
As believers, we celebrate Jesus year-round, not just one month of the year. We also know Christmas isn’t just about baby Jesus lying in a manger.
While He came to earth over 2000 years ago, His appearance has been predicted since the beginning - starting in Genesis.
But we see more and varied details about Him in Isaiah 52 & 53 some 700 years before His birth. It is here we see a more realistic depiction of His life.
We are told He was despised, a man of sorrows, nothing to look at really, and was marred beyond human likeness just to name a few.
This can be hard to remember – and reconcile – while we have gifts under the tree, a feast planned, and are singing Joy to the World during Christmas Eve service.
But it can also help us praise Him more fully.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3 ESV)
Here are three additional ways to praise Him this Advent and Christmas season.
His Plan
It was God’s plan all along for Jesus to pay the price for our sins (Isaiah 53:10). He decided to on us before the creation of the world even knowing we would fail and be unfaithful (Ephesians 1:4).
So He had a plan in place to provide The Savior He knew we would need… long before we were ever born.
As we scan through all of Scripture, we can praise Him for His plan, and His steadfast love and faithfulness to fulfill it from the beginning.
His Purity
God’s requirement to enter into His holy presence in heaven is perfection (Romans 3:23). He knew we were incapable of this, so He sent His one and only Son to be the perfect sacrifice.
Can you imagine being Jesus, walking the earth, struggling with all the same temptations we do yet remaining pure?
He knew and heard unthinkable things people were saying and thinking about Him (past, present, and future), His Heavenly Father and others He loved. Yet He never lashed out, never sinned, and remained the pure and spotless Lamb of God (John 1:29).
His Obedience to His Purpose
Before Genesis to after Revelation and beyond, Jesus knew the plan. He knew He would suffer and die a horrific death for each of us even if we didn’t care about Him (Romans 5:8).
Unlike us, who can be fickle and may or may not follow through on a promise depending on how we feel, He chose day by day, and probably moment by moment at times, to remain obedient to His Father’s will, perfectly.
He knew He had one purpose and one purpose only – to save sinners like you and me so we could one day live with Him forever in heaven. And through all those years of ups and downs and trials and temptations, He remained true to His purpose.
So this Christmas while we are wrapping presents, preparing a feast, or singing carols, we can praise God.
Not only that He sent His Son to the world to save us, but we were first and foremost on His heart from the very beginning – and still are.
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