Advent: True Perfection

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, All these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

Dad had a particular order for decorating our Christmas tree. First, secure the tree in its stand and wrap it with strands of multicolored, large-bulbed lights all pointing up. Then he and Mom draped aluminum foil garland in perfect arcs that alternated between high and low points from top to bottom at each level. Once the garland was placed, my brothers and I were allowed to add some ornaments, if they were evenly spaced and hung from branches—not the garland or lights. We worked in solemn silence. Mom and Dad gently secured antique, fragile glass ornaments around the top branches. The final step was to grab lots of foil tinsel and place it over the garland, so each piece was straight and untangled. After Christmas, we tediously removed the tinsel strands and packed them back in their designated boxes for use the following year.

That is what I knew about Christmas: perfect decorations.

Now I delight in pondering the prophesied coming of Jesus, the Messiah. He is worthy of my devotion—and I also enjoy the beauty of the season.

Why did Jesus, the eternal Son of God, leave heaven to be born as a baby, the Son of Man? Because God the Father loves us (1 John 4:9), He sent Jesus to bridge the gap between us and Him. We all fall short of God’s perfection (Romans 3:23), but He wants us to be His children. Jesus lived a perfect life and bore our wrongdoings on the cross as payment for the debt we owed. He died in our place and was buried in a tomb. So that… He could rise to life three days later to ensure our eternal life with Him! Now it is up to us to accept His provision.

Heavenly Father, You are brilliant in all Your ways! Thank You for the perfect plan that allows everyone the opportunity to experience Your love through Your Son, Jesus.

Karen Sims