“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah 9:6
Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah a word of hope. God’s chosen people are being threatened from within and without. Enemies surround them and the threat of invasion and defeat are ever before them. Inside their borders, corrupt leaders and spiritual apathy create an expectation that all is not well. In the darkest of hours, hope and promise appear—God will continue to walk with and deliver His people.
Sometimes we miss the historical context of the Incarnation and the Messiah’s birth on this side of history. We are keenly aware that Christ came to save and redeem us but He is also the hope of the nations, the hope of generations, the hope of the entire world. He is described as one on whom the government rests—He is Lord. He is described as a wonderful counselor—one who walks with us and journeys with us. He is described as Mighty God—the all powerful King of Kings. He is the everlasting Father— the one who loves us and calls us His own. He is the Prince of Peace—the one who brings hope and rest in the midst of difficulty.
Who is He inside of your life today? Sometimes we’re content to know Jesus in a limited way…He died for my sins…Or perhaps, He lives in my heart. But there is a richness and a vastness to who He is…indescribable, Word made Flesh, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Beginning and the End, Lion of Judah, Son of God, Redeemer, Savior, Friend of Sinners, God with us.
Will you open your life this Christmas season to the fullness of who He is? Beyond the cute pictures of an infant in a manger, will you open your heart to the one who came to make a difference in your life, my life, and the whole of human history. Charles Wesley’s famous Christmas carol says this of Him:
Hail! the heaven-born Prince of peace! Hail! the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, Risen with healing in his wings
Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die:
Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
In light of all that He has done and still desires to do, will you give Him glory this Christmas season and you seek His face. Merry Christmas!!
Michael Bill is the incoming president of the camp’s board of directors and is a pastor at Sharptown Church.
