We all know the song. Some of us might be sick of it. But we definitely know the feeling. Whether we’re wishing for something small and selfish or longing for something deeply meaningful, we are always in want.
What do you want for Christmas?
A vacation? A new car? A better job—or just a job?
A restored relationship with your spouse, friends, or family?
Someone to love you—or someone to love?
Some assurance that it’s all going to be okay in the end?
Some way of knowing your life has meaning and purpose?
Christmas promises joy and happiness, but it also exposes what we lack and what we fear. Christmas isn’t for people who have everything—it’s for people who know they don’t. It’s for those who mourn, who suffer, who are in need. It’s for those who carry shame and guilt. It’s for those who are poor in spirit.
And in some way or another, that’s all of us.
During Advent and Christmas, we celebrate the coming of God into our world in His Son, Jesus Christ. God leaned down and took on our flesh. He became our Brother—vulnerable, approachable, an ordinary baby in a manger. More than that, He allowed Himself to be treated as we treat one another—worse, even—to be crucified. Out of love, Jesus became sin for us, though He knew no sin, so that we might be forgiven. Out of love for you, He rose again from the dead, that you too might rise.
Jesus is the answer to your Christmas wish list.
He gives you His righteousness.
He gives you the promise of resurrection.
Now, though we hold His promises by faith, we look forward with boldness to the day when faith will become sight, when He comes again in glory.
Christmas isn’t just a momentary escape from a stressful life—it is a present and enduring reality. God has come into the world, and He isn’t leaving. One day, fear, suffering, and guilt will be gone. Until then, the power of His promises keeps us moving forward.
So—what do you want for Christmas?
