We Are Called to Reflect Christ’s Faithfulness
December 24, 2023 | Montgomery County, TX
by Pastor Jason Nelson, Grace Woodlands Church
As a kid growing up in Wisconsin, I didn’t have to dream about having a White Christmas. We had White Christmases almost every year. As an adult I can hardly think of an outdoor nativity scene without picturing shepherds, sheep…and snowmen standing around baby Jesus as He’s lying in a manger.
Now that I’m an adult, snow isn’t nearly as important to me. I’ll take the heat over the snow on most days of the year because you don’t have to shovel heat. I have to admit, though, the closer we get to December 25th, the more I begin dreaming of a White Christmas again. And, the closer we get to Christmas the more I am powerfully drawn into the Christmas story.
Too Many Times, Christ Is Taken Out of Christmas
See, in addition to having great childhood Christmas memories that revolve around snow, I also have some great memories that revolve around the story of Jesus’ birth. On Christmas Eve my family and I would go over to my great-grandparents’ house to celebrate with extended family. These were good times—a little crazy as well because there were so many people there, but we had a lot of fun. My grandfather ordered in pizza for everyone, every year, which is a tradition I still keep to this day on Christmas Eve. After dinner, everyone gathered in my great-grandparents’ living room to sing Christmas carols.
When the caroling was over, my great-uncle grabbed his bible, opened it up to the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, and read the story of Jesus’ Birth. This was something he did faithfully every year, which always prompted us to remember why we had gathered in the first place, reminding us that having a White Christmas isn’t important, but having a Christ Christmas is. Too many times, Christ is taken out of Christmas and displaced from the center of our celebrations. As Christians, it’s time to put Christ first and it’s time to be faithful to that task.
Joseph Was Faithful to His Task
This is what Joseph did; he was faithful to the task God had assigned him. Joseph was faithful to Mary and so he was faithful to Christ. Joseph had every right to cut off his engagement with Mary. She was pregnant and the baby inside her wasn’t his child. He could have renounced their engagement and no one would have questioned his character. He could have denied that this baby was his and left both Mary and baby Jesus to fend for themselves.
But, instead of denying and deserting, Joseph decided to be a faithful follower of God’s plan, a faithful husband to Mary, and a faithful father to the Son of God. With humility, Joseph took on the role of protector. Even though the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was long and hard, Joseph committed to care and comfort Mary along the way; and, even after Jesus’s birth, Joseph continued to lay down his pride by raising a child who was not of his flesh.
What a great example of what it means to be faithful! Where do you think Joseph learned such faithfulness? He learned it from his Father above. God is faithful; and He is faithful because He is love. The greatest reflection of this reality (the reality that God is lovingly faithful) lies in the person, life, and ministry of this little baby who is wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Jesus is the greatest example of faithfulness the world has ever known.
Jesus Is the Perfect Model of Faithfulness
Jesus faithfully embraced God’s plan of redemption by leaving his throne in heaven and wrapping himself in human flesh. He faithfully submitted to the will of God the Father. Despite mockery and rejection, Jesus remained faithfully focused on his ministry of love and compassion, healing and hope. When his disciples disowned and denied him, he remained faithful to them. When the sin of humanity was placed upon his shoulders, Jesus faithfully bore our sin and endured the cross. While he was on the cross enduring excruciating pain, Jesus was faithful to deliver the gift of forgiveness to the thief hanging beside him. In death, Jesus faithfully carried out God’s plan of redemption; and because of the power of the resurrection, Jesus is alive and faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins to him. And now, Jesus, Immanuel, faithfully walks with us both as our savior and as our faithful friend.
Jesus is the perfect model of faithfulness for us today as we strive to be faithful to God, our family, and friends. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are being transformed into the image of Christ so we can be faithful as He is faithful.
“Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful”
We are being called and empowered to reflect the faithfulness of Christ! Ponder that for a moment…it sure brings a whole new meaning to the carol “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful,” doesn’t it?