The Arrival of Sar Shalom

As we approach Christmas, there are many things on our minds. Who’s coming, where we’re going to spend the day, which church service we will meet our family and/or friends at, have we got enough food, what are the plans for presents, and present-giving … not to mention the preparations for getting away for our annual holiday.

May it be that, in the midst of a very busy end-of-year season, Christmas remains for all of us a time to pause and put aside the commercial trappings of the season. A time thanking and worshipping God – the creator of all that there was, is and is to come – for His own selfless and gracious insertion into human history to solve the problem humankind had created. All of us, His image bearers, choose our own way – a way separate from Him – a problem only He can solve. Jesus – God incarnate, God in human form – came to earth and solved that problem once and for all. 

That human experience all started in Bethlehem – manger, shepherds, angels, a virgin mother – a miracle in the humblest of circumstances. And Christmas is our time, as God’s people, to remind one another of its wonder and majesty. May it be a special time for all in our community this year.

For some, it will be particularly hard – a first time without special loved ones. To you, I extend my heartfelt sympathies. May you find comfort in the love of those you do find yourself with at Christmas; may it be that you can hold tight to the eternal promise God gives us of the time when all heartache will be wiped away – in the new heaven and new earth. 

(If you get a chance, have a read of Revelation 21 and 22 – the descriptions are breathtaking.) 

As we celebrate the arrival of the Prince of Peace this Christmas time, 

Shalom to one and all.