One Who Stands Among You

It's Christmas Morning but everyone in my household is in bed - except me.

There were only a few last minute preparations remaining for us and my wife took care of most of those details. 

I took the day off (not something I usually do Christmas Eve) and we managed to take in the early Christmas Eve service at our church.  It was a capacity crowd - as always a beautiful experience.

After dinner with R.'s family, we made it home.  The kids and I squeezed in a distracted "Martin Luther Walk" in the woods after nine o'clock. 

We read some stories, lit the Christ Candle and read Dr. Luke's account of Christ's birth.

As I look toward the day ahead (hopefully AFTER a long winter's nap) I am mindful of John Baptist.  I have thought about him a lot this Advent season.  Rough, straightforward and eccentric as he was - he was at heart, a teacher.

When his dad was proclaiming the mission of this boy he pointed out his calling as a teacher (Luke 1:77-79):

1. To Prepare
2. To Give Knowledge
3. To Give Light
4. To Guide

As John Baptist was getting ready to introduce Jesus Christ to the world, his description puts me in mind of the Emmanuel title for Christ that we remember at Christmas. 

John said, "...there stands One among you, whom you do not know..." (John 1:26)

Jesus was that One standing among them ... "God with us".
He came to be among us, the be like us ... and to liberate us with His very life.

With the Advent season, we celebrate that Someone is coming . . . John Baptist reminds us - He has already come ...

...   He stood among us.

Merry Christmas!