Sometimes we just need to know that God is here and that He’s paying attention. If we knew that with certainty, then maybe we would be fine or at least finer. Maybe you’re still looking for that sign and you haven’t found it yet, so you start to wonder. We all have a concept of what God is like, but until the arrival of Jesus, the world was left guessing. There was so much mystery, only hints and shadows, and then God came to dwell with us to demonstrate for us what he is like. If you look anywhere other than Jesus for what God is like, then you are looking in the wrong place. God is like Jesus. Jesus came to us to demonstrate, illustrate, and communicate what God is like, who He is, and who He loves.

The messiness of the world is what paved the way for God to do something extraordinary. God blessed the world with a different kind of king who came to establish a different kind of Kingdom. We are all familiar with the Christmas story but some of us are not familiar with the Christmas backstory. The story of Christmas begins with a remarkable promise to Abraham. God promised to make Abraham into a great nation and He did which set up the Christmas story we all know. The backstory of Christmas occurred during a 2,000-year saga that is fascinating, amazing, and inspiring. It’s also a bit convicting. If the arrival of Jesus was a blessing to the world, shouldn’t we as Jesus followers be a blessing to the world as well?