It’s December 1, and I’m delighted that the calendar allowed us a few extra days of post-Thanksgiving time to get ready for Christmas this year. Tonight, our church will host an Advent Kickoff/Chili Cookoff event, and I’m ready.
At the risk of sounding like a sentimental sap, I love Christmas. About three years ago, I was limping through the year, and December felt like a breath of fresh air that reminded me that I might actually finish the year in one piece. I wrote about it.
One book you’ll see mentioned in that old article is Sinclair Ferguson’s Love Came Down at Christmas. I received it as Christmas gift in 2019, probably at the Christmas Eve service, based on the sweet note from a deacon’s wife that’s now become my bookmark. Who reads an Advent Devotional in January, even a good one? Not me, but it was my loss. In 2020, I opened it up, and it simply hit the spot, and it’s not because of Sinclair’s wonderful Scottish accent, though I’ll admit that I sometimes imagine him reading the words out loud in that wonderful brogue.
To entice you into reading it, let me give a brief teaser. The 24 daily devotionals are built around 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. Why? In his introduction, he imagines what would happen if an interviewer asked a celebrity, as they often do, what Christmas means to them. He imagines that, maybe, just maybe, someone will someday elaborate beyond the usual platitudes like, “Love.” What if they interviewed a Christian who said something like:
“Christmas is about love because Love came down at Christmas.”
Before you know it, he’s quoting John 3:16 and roping you into a familiar passage, showing you new depths in the simple words of John and the simple words of I Cor 13. Then you’re into Day 1, talking about angels and gifts and the Nicene Creed: “For us and for our salvation he came down.” He concludes:
“Whatever gifts you may have, love always means that you come down. It means that you use those gifts for the good of others, not to make yourself feel good. It means that you are willing to do things that are uncomfortable or inconvenient for you, or that you go unnoticed. … Real love always comes down. We know that because Love came down at Christmas.”
If you want the other 23 days, use the Amazon link above, or visit CBD.com for a cheaper price and more complicated shipping.
P.s. If you’ve already read this, because I’ve been recommending it for a few years, try this instead: R.C. Sproul’s new advent devotional, posthumously published by his wife and some close friends.
-Pastor Matt