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Focus on the Gospel and Read Scripture
If you’re a husband and wife and you want to have some kind of gospel incarnation sanity during Christmas, you’re just going to have to be intentional. Nothing in the surrounding culture is going to reinforce that—nothing you will see at the mall, nothing you will watch on television. You’re going to have to intentionally focus on the beauty of the gospel story that’s depicted in the birth of the Lord Jesus.
You haven’t yet graduated from your need of what Jesus came to do.
One of the things I would suggest is that you read together all the passages—Old and New Testament—that have to do with the Christmas story. Read those, read them again, meditate on them, discuss them. Let Scripture begin to be in your heart.
Honestly Confess Shortcomings
Another thing you can do is sit down and humbly confess the specific ways you still need the grace of the Savior who came in this miraculous way for you. That makes the story personal. It brings it to this moment and reminds you that you haven’t yet graduated from your need for what Jesus came to do.
Join the Chorus
Then a final thing. I’m serious about this. Go see a performance of Handel’s Messiah. There is no single piece of music that more powerfully demonstrates the need for Jesus to come, the content of his coming, and its results in our lives.
I was taken as a little boy and then as a young man every year. I will never forget those moments when the “Hallelujah Chorus” comes and the crowd stands up. I was moved as a little boy and I’m still moved today. It’s a wonderful way to remember again the beauty, glory, and practicality of the coming of Jesus.
This is a guest article by Paul David Tripp, author of Come Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent. This post originally appeared on crossway.org; used with permission.
Paul David Tripp (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is a pastor, author, and international conference speaker. He is also the president of Paul Tripp Ministries. He has written a number of popular books on Christian living, including What Did You Expect?, Dangerous Calling, Parenting, and New Morning Mercies. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Luella and they have four grown children.
