Observing Advent is one way to help keep our focus on Christ during the stress-filled, calendar-filled, event-filled Christmas season. It’s more than just a ceremony of lighting candles arranged in a wreath. It’s also more than a mere tradition that we continue for tradition sake. It’s about pausing and pondering what really makes Christmas, Christmas.

If Christmas was nothing more than a day in December when we spend a lot of money, receive a lot of gifts, eat a lot of food, and decorate the house with a lot of ornaments, how empty it would be. All those “lots” may make things merry and festive for a day or two, but by the time December 26 rolled around, all those trappings are gone.

Now I certainly don’t want to be a Grinch and take away all things Christmas. It is a fun time of year. However, let’s not allow all the trappings and travel keep us from being newly amazed at the most wondrous story ever told.

It truly is a stunning tale. Christ, the eternal Son of God, leaves the splendor of Glory to be born in a manger. The Infinite takes on human flesh. The Son of God becomes the Son of Man. God enters into His own creation as part of His creation! It’s fascinating! Not only that God the Son was willing to humble Himself to become one of us, not only that He completed the task, but even more startling is why!

He became one of us in order to redeem us! He came down from heaven to earth that we may go up from earth to heaven. The Sinless One came to make the sinful ones sinless. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that we as sons of men might become sons of God.