Whew! So very late today. No. It’s not because I went fighting – err, shopping this morning. Bless y’all’s hearts who did.

For me, this day after Thanksgiving is when we prepare to usher in the Christmas season. We’ve seen the official entrance of Macy’s Santa, marking the opening of the Season.

As we open the season, I think it’s important to recall the why. We often hear “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” but then we focus on the Baby. The fact of His birth is amazing and wonderful, but I believe we must couple that with the why else the “Reason” doesn’t mean much.

The fact is, Jesus was born to die.

John wrote in what we call chapter 3, verse 17, that He didn’t come to condemn the world (people who don’t believe in and serve God), but to save them. See, they were already living under condemnation. Their journey was taking them further away from God until they died, when they would be fully separated from Him for all eternity.

Jesus was born of a virgin, grew up, and began His ministry of bringing people into God’s Kingdom. He gave Himself up to heinous torture and death in our place, paying for our sins with His sinless self. He could have stood in judgment of all who didn’t believe. Instead, He drew them to a safety only He could offer.

This, friends, is what Christmas is all about. Enjoy the baby in the manger, but please, please do so under the shadow of the cross.

It is the cross that sets us free.

Coffee, Bible, Journal.