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Isn’t it fascinating how significant moments in time can cause us to reminisce and reflect? Take New Years Eve/Day: many of us look back over the year—the ups, downs, and everything in between—and then consider how we might change or grow in the new year (even if that resolution only lasts a few weeks/days). Or consider an annual celebration, such as a wedding anniversary. It’s a day to remember the joys and hardships a husband and wife have walked through together, but it can also be a great time for a married couple to consider asking, “How can we grow in loving each other better?”

In a similar way, the Christmas season is also a great time to reminisce and reflect. We have spent the last four weeks during our Sunday morning gatherings reflecting on the birth of Jesus, our Messiah and revealer of the Father.  I hope that you have also reflected on the life of Jesus, the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Yes, Jesus came as an infant, but, as the adage goes, he did not stay a baby! He lived and became the sacrifice through whom all may have their sins forgiven (Rom. 3:23-24). In these last few days of the holiday season, I would encourage you to ponder and then praise God for sending His Son.

Yet we also understand that Jesus’ Messiahship is not restricted to His earthly life, death and resurrection as seen in the Gospels. As Jesus and the rest of the New Testament reveals, Christ will one day return (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18). For those of us who know the Lord, this will be a time of great rejoicing (cf. Rev. 21-22); however, those who have not placed their faith in the saving work of Christ will face eternal separation from God (cf. Rev. 20:11-15).

Pondering and remembering past and future events is certainly good, but these times must also be accompanied by action. So too with thinking about Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. Indeed, we can and should remember how Jesus has saved us from our sins; however, we must also seek to share the hope of the Messiah with others as well. Just as Nathanael heard of Jesus through Philip, and Peter through Andrew (who had heard of Jesus through John the Baptist), so too can others hear of Jesus through us.

Concerning the future coming of the Messiah, Paul’s application to the Corinthian church about the kingdom of God in 1 Corinthians 15 is fitting: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Our priority must be to honor and please the Lord in all that we say and do until Christ returns. Does your home life reflect a life characterized by glorifying God and obeying Him? How about at work? Is the way you handle yourself in private consistent with your testimony of Christ? Do you fear God rather than what man says or thinks? In all these areas and many more, may we daily turn to God and His Word for wisdom and seek to obey Him.