Christmas blessings
From the office of President Mark Schroeder
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Fellow worshipers of our newborn King,
Strip away all of the clutter that has been heaped on this wonderful day we call Christmas, and you are left with what makes this day worth celebrating. In this little sentence, the inspired apostle John summarizes the height of God's love for us. He loved us enough to send his Son to become one of us, to live with us and for us, and to die the death we deserved and to set us eternally free. The eternally gracious Lord of all entered this world to make the ultimate sacrifice—all because of his searching love committed to bring wandering and rebellious creatures back to the Creator.
Not only do these words describe God's unfathomable love and the lengths to which he would go to accomplish his saving work, but they also point to the fact that he has given us the eyes of faith to see his birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection for what it is: the indescribable glory of the Son of God himself, a glory temporarily wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger, the glory of a Savior who would not let us die in our sins.
It is with those God-given eyes of faith that we return to Bethlehem in his season, looking past all of the clutter and glitter and window dressing of the season, and there see our reason for joy and hope. The world around us may look at that manger with eyes that do not see a Savior there. For them, their Christmas celebration will be just another time for partying, shallow sentiments, and fleeting good cheer. But by God's grace, we see. We see through faith-filled eyes what God has really done for us. We see through faith-filled eyes a manger not only standing under the worshiping gaze of shepherds, but standing also under the looming shadow of a distant cross. There lies the joy of this season for all of us.
On behalf of all of us who serve you here in the Synod Administration Building, we extend to you our warmest Christmas greetings, preparing to join our hearts and voices with yours in praise of Jesus, our Savior, the Son of God, full of grace and truth.
Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder
Filed Under: Christmas
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