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These words from a beloved hymn provide a perfect opening for our study this month: “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee. Israel's Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver, Born a Child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone; By thine all-sufficient merit, Raise us to thy glorious throne.”
The supremacy of Christ is an overarching theme of Christmas. One might think this hardly needs saying, but one look around our culture says differently. Given the materialism and secularism that typically characterizes Christmas, today's reading provides a needed corrective. In the opening verse, two key words describe Christ: “image” and “firstborn” (v. 15). An “image” is what we see in a mirror—a representation of our physical self. Similarly, Christ is an incarnate representation or revelation of God, and He is God. The fact that He is metaphorically “firstborn” points to His absolute rule over two realms, creation and the church. He rules over creation because He made it and sustains it (vv. 16-17). He rules over the church because He redeemed us, a mission He accomplished by becoming “the firstborn from among the dead” (vv. 18-20).
In verses 21-23, we
discover a beautiful rendition of the Christmas story: Creation was at war with God; peace needed to be made; Christ came and did so. Christmas is a holiday of transformation—from alienation to reconciliation, from war to peace, from a broken relationship to a restored one, from being enemies to being friends, from sinful behavior to being presented holy, from death to life. The true spirit of Christmas inspires us to stand firm and to live based on the hope of the gos
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What will you do to make this Christmas all about the supremacy of Christ? It's rather easy to let the holiday focus shift to gifts or family get-togethers or church programs, instead of keeping Christ Himself at the center. As today's devotion shows, that's a huge mistake! Spend some time today thinking through your December plans and priorities and making whatever changes are necessary to honor and celebrate this season for the right reason. We'll have more ideas in the “Today Along the Way” applications for this month.
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