Making Space – An Advent DevotionalSample

The Start of Christmas

“Some people believe that Christmas officially begins when Santa arrives at the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.”

That was the line my first grader had to deliver at her school assembly which had a Christmas theme.

I helped her practice the line, but I wasn’t entirely convinced of the veracity of the statement. Sure, some people believe that Christmas begins when Thanksgiving – marked in New York City by the Macy’s parade – wraps up.

But when did the Christmas officially begin? With Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem? Or with angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary?

The more I think about it, the more I believe that Christmas “officially” began with the fall of man. When Adam and Eve chose to deliberately disobey God, it broke the relationship between man and his Creator. That’s when God put His rescue plan into motion.

He didn’t wait for man to clean up his act. Right then, God spoke of the birth of the second Adam – Christ – who would crush Satan's head.

Prayer

Abba Father, thank you for being a loving, living God. Thank you for reaching out to us right in the midst of our brokenness and our sinfulness. You put into motion a rescue plan for us from the beginning! Amen