The Last Christmas

Christmas is not about the birth of Christ. It is about the coming of Christ—not the actual birthday. No one knows which day He was born, but we know He came to fulfill the promises made long ago, and to make all things right. That is the true meaning of Christmas and the purpose for our celebration.

We remember that at Christmas—but there’s also something we forget.  There is not one coming of Christ, but two--one that has already happened and another ahead of us. Christ promised to return one day and that will be the last and final Christmas.

The last Christmas will not be like the first.  There will be no manger, no wise men, and no shepherds. The visitor coming down from heaven will not be an angel, but Christ Himself.  It not be a silent night, but a glorious morning.  No kings will rage to stop him, but they will fall down in terror at His feet.  It will be the fulfillment of all things. 

What makes Christmas story so special to us is not just the facts, but how the story makes us feel. The reason Christmas is universally celebrated is how we connect with the story emotionally. The Christmas is about the fulfillment of a promise, and the realization that dreams come true. 

This celebration of a promise fulfilled has taken on a life of its own.  Ever since we were tiny babies, we have learned that if we make wishes at Christmas they will come true. Like Israel longed for a Messiah, so children long for toys on Christmas morning. When Christmas morning comes, they get what was promised, as Israel got the Messiah they sought.

 But children’s wishes do not come cheaply. Our parents love us very much.  We have no idea as children how much sacrifice and effort our parent’s put into making our dreams come true, nor do our parents want us to know.  They want us to learn that they love them, that the world is a good and decent place, and that there is always hope that our dreams will actually come true.

Christmas is a symbol of dreams fulfilled. It is such a power symbol that whenever we receive a realized hope we say it “feels like Christmas.”  Weddings feel like Christmas. Graduations feel like Christmas. Job promotions, new babies, all feel like Christmas to us. Christmas is when we learn that things can be happy and new, that we can have new beginnings, and we can celebrate what is good and pure with friends and family.

Christ’s coming was a dream fulfilled.  At Christmas, God showed he had not forsaken us, that Christ came to fulfill our dreams. This is what children learn—that the world is a good place where promises are kept, dreams are fulfilled, and parents can be good and wonderful and wise, and we really can live happily really is ever after. 

At least, this perceive as the meaning of Christmas, Every Christmas brings new toys under the evergreen tee, which renews its bounty with ever new Christmas season. But it is not necessarily the case.  Sometimes, our promises are not fulfilled We do not understand why we don’t get what we want.

Our knowledge of God and His promises are much like the promises of Christmas. We’ve been told that God loves us and that He gives us everything. Then one day things don’t walk out like we think they will.  We come to Jesus, expecting eternal bliss and joy. Instead, we get trouble, hardship, rejection, persecution and misunderstanding. Our temptations are still there, so are out frustrations.   

We get confused about God’s promises. We confuse God’s blessings with the secular image of Christmas.  But God’s favor is not a fairy tale or a Disney movie, where the world is all right all the time, and the magic of Christmas lasts the whole year long. By New Year’s we’ve packed up the Christmas lights and the put away the wrapping paper.  Our toys have already started breaking.  What is new is starting to become old, so very quickly.

I love the Toy Story movies, because that is what they are really about. They aren’t about toys, they are really about what happens to us as get old and die.  Toys we receive on Christmas break, and we have to deal with that.  As we move from Christmas out into the ordinary world, things seem to fall apart for us. 

A couple gets married, but the honeymoon ends and they get quarreling.  Often, it ends badly.  A child is born, and we are happy to have them, until they grow into a sullen teenager.  A new job seems like a dream fulfilled, until we have to live with deadlines and demanding bosses.  People we love get sick and better, only to die later. The blessing that Christmas seems to promise is an illusion. In the end, it is just another day. 

But that’s why we need to remember that there are two Christmases, not just one.  The first coming of Christ is the first installment of the dream. The second installment has not yet come.  The first coming introduces us to the Savior. The Second Coming is when sets all things right. The first coming is the taste, the second is the feast. Nothing lasts now, because nothing is eternal. When He comes again, death itself will die.  Then all promises will come true.. 

It’s hard to remember when we face hard times that God really loves us. So God assures us of His love by the death and resurrection of His son. The Cross is the proof of God’s eternal promise of the second Christmas.  God’s sacrifices reminds us that the real hope is coming.

God has not revealed to us what heaven is like—that would be spoiling the surprise. But He has revealed to us the price tag. What He has in store for us cost him everything. The reality of that second Christmas yet to come must truly be fantastic.

One day, what is promised will be fulfilled/  Christ will come in the same way He departed, and bring with us all the presents and the Presence of God. Until that time, be satisfied with knowing that God is the one who is ordering everything to His glory.