Tag Archive for: Holidays

The Humble Arrival: Reflecting on the Incarnation’s Gentle Grace

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Think of all the grand gestures in this world. The motorcades, parades, and celebrations that occur when a president or prince visits a nation. The very foundation of the red carpet is glamour and awe. Modern rallies often welcome their distinguished guests to the stage with music blasting and sparks flying. Hardly ever do important people make an appearance without the whole shebang. With one exception — the most important Being who ever walked this earth.

It’s Christmas time, which means we pay special attention to “the reason for the season”: the birth of Jesus Christ. And when we do so properly, what do we see? Sheer humility.

You know the narrative — Mary and Joseph, shepherds, a manger. Mary, close to birth, needed shelter. The inn, however, had no room. And so, they stayed in the stable, where little baby Jesus was ultimately born. However, during a time in which we commonly focus on how He came into the world in such a humble place, I want to focus on how He came into the world in such a humble form.

We’re not dealing with a good man who did good things in this world. No, we’re reflecting upon the very purpose behind Christmas, which involves the God of the universe. We’re talking about the incarnation of YAHWEH — the great I AM. We’re talking about the One who created the world and everything in it. The One whose mighty hand ordains all things — from the flooding of the earth in Noah’s time to the gentle fall of the leaves in Autumn.

This God could have come in any form He wished. As Audrey Assad sang in the song “Winter Snow,” He could have come like a “mighty storm,” carrying “all the strength of a hurricane.” He “could’ve come like a forest fire, with the power of heaven in [His] flame.” He could have come accompanied by trembling earthquakes or blinding light. He could have come declaring His holiness — His sovereignty.

But no… He came like a “winter snow. Quiet and soft and slow. Falling from the sky in the night to the earth below.”

I can hardly think of a more humble, innocent, and precious way for our Savior — the King of kings and Lord of lords — to have come to us. So vulnerable. So small. So out of sight.

In this fallen world, it’s “go big or go home.” Nearly everything comes back to how much attention, money, or possessions you have. If you have an abundance, then the world brands you as a somebody. But if you have nothing? Well, more often than not, you’re thrust aside as a nobody. And when Jesus entered this world, from a worldly perspective, He came with nothing — not even an actual room to be born in. By all earthly standards, He was a nobody.

Philippians 2:5-8 paints the full picture: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” All throughout Scripture, we see how everything Christ did, everything He was, and every aspect of what He taught all came back to humility. His entire earthly life — from birth to death — spotlights humility. All while bearing the title of King. The most perfect, mighty, majestic, sovereign, and holy Being chose humility. He chose humanity’s form. Christ does not just choose the lowly — He placed Himself among the lowly.

What better example could we ask for? Christ’s life, the humility that saturated every moment of it, completely flips the world’s script. When we’re told we can’t be satisfied unless we have more, Christ tells us we’re complete and satisfied in Him only. When the world demands perfection in order to be accepted, Christ cloaks us in His perfection. When the world tells us to perform for an audience of millions, Christ tells us: “Look to me and me alone.”

To the world, we’re never enough. No matter how much you chase what it deems valuable, you will never stop chasing — and you will always come up unsatisfied. And yet, in Christ, we have all things. In fact, the very nature of our lowliness is what makes the gospel so breathtakingly beautiful. James 2:5 reminds us: “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him?” Or as 2 Corinthians 8:9 echoes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.”

Beloved, in the most loving way I say this: we are a bunch of nobodies. There is nothing in us, I should think, that would beckon the Father’s love over us. I can think of no comprehensible reason why God would send His one and only Son to die for us. Why, I often wonder, would Jesus go through so much pain and suffering, taking on sin and death, for a people that constantly fail Him? And to then turn around and give those people abundant life and a citizenship in heaven — it’s simply unfathomable!

We all came into this world as little, crying, helpless babies. We all entered unable to survive without the intervention of doctors and the love and help of our parents or some form of caregiver. Even as we age, we’re frequently reminded of our frailty, as well as our dependence on that which is outside of ourselves. From start to finish, we see how, really, we aren’t all that important. No, we’re small and ordinary. We’re flawed and feeble. And yet, from being a babe to an adult in His mid-thirties, this is the form our Lord chose to mirror. This is the form that bears God’s image. This is the form of life He found worth dying for and communing with forever.

Our King — mighty and powerful — is so tender. Even the birds of the air He cares for. The grass is caressed by his tender breezes. The flowers, with their soft petals, bloom at His command. And this is all the more striking when considering the same voice that cares for the smallest, most vulnerable aspects of this life also moves mountains, controls storms, and evokes reverent (or not so reverent) fear and trembling. It’s astounding, really. I mean, how could all of this be confined to a tiny baby? I’m truly unsure. But I am thankful — thankful for this wonderful reminder of humility.

And so, as we gather around twinkling lights and exchange gifts this Christmas, let us pause to emulate that same humility in our own lives. In a season often dominated by excess and spectacle, may we choose the quiet path of service, kindness, and selflessness — mirroring the Savior who came not to be served, but to serve. Let this truth transform our hearts: the greatest power in the universe arrived in the gentlest whisper, inviting us to find our worth not in worldly acclaim, but in the eternal embrace of a humble King.

In Him, our ordinary lives become extraordinary, and our weaknesses are turned to strength. Merry Christmas, and may the peace of Christ, born in a manger, dwell richly in you.

AUTHOR

Sarah Holliday

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

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The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Hope Restored

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It has been said that a person can live about 40 days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for a few seconds without hope. For Good Friday, I am reading Ezekiel 37 in the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan. How providential! Because Ezekiel 37 is about hope restored.

In Ezekiel 37, God’s people had raised the white flag of surrender, and admitted in verse 11: “Our hope is lost…” They had cause for discouragement. Their nation had been invaded and taken over. They had been ripped out of their homeland. Now they were exiles in a foreign land, objects of shame, scorn and humiliation.

Slip into their sandals and consider: Gone was the city of David. Gone were the city walls and the king’s palace. Gone was the Temple, the place of God’s presence.

All of it was gone! For these people, it was as if someone had gone back to the book of Genesis and torn their history right out of the Bible. No wonder they sighed: “Our hope is lost.”

In response to His people who had given up hope, God had a word for Ezekiel to deliver. Once again, God gave His prophet an unforgettable vision. In a vast valley, as far as the eye could see in every direction, God showed Ezekiel a landscape littered with sun-bleached, dried-out bones scattered everywhere. The emblem, the symbol, the certificate of death. Ezekiel saw a fallen army of skeletons. Maybe a skull in a helmet over here, a bony hand clutching a rusty sword over there. And these bones appeared to be dried out, desiccated, picked clean by scavengers, bleached white in the scorching Judean sun.

As the prophet stood there and surveyed what appeared to be a hopeless and impossible situation, God asked him a question: “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel’s reply was essentially: “God, only you could know the answer to that one” (see v. 4). Ezekiel did not know but at least he was confident that God did know. Ezekiel had no hope in the dry bones, but he did have hope in the Lord His God.

Then God told Ezekiel to preach to the bones (v. 4). Ever the obedient servant, Ezekiel did so, and the result is nothing short of miraculous. For while he preached, he heard the noise of those bones rattling and scraping together (v. 7b). And before his very eyes, skeletons were fitted together, bone to bone, then sinew and tendons, and finally, these reconstituted skeletons were clothed with flesh (v. 8). At long last, Ezekiel had the rare commodity of a congregation that responded rightly to his preaching!

But there was one problem, they were still dead. They looked a lot more alive than they did when they were just dry bones scattered around in the desert sand, but there was no life in them (v. 8b). Consequently, God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind, in Hebrew the ruach, literally the breath, wind or Spirit (v. 9). Ezekiel once again did as he was commanded, and God breathed into them the “breath of life.” This is much like He did in Genesis 2 with Adam, but with one difference: this was a “re-vival,” a “resurrection.” They were alive once, then they died, now they were alive again. So, a vast army now stood in the place of scattered skeletons.

Then God gives Ezekiel the interpretation (v. 11-14). In 37:11, God quotes the people. They believed that there was no hope, bones were dried up, cut off, as good as dead. Indeed, they were. But God told them (v. 12-14) that He Himself would raise them up, as it were, from the dead. Furthermore, He would bring them back to the land and put His Spirit within them. And that would renew their hope. From the benefit of our historical vantagepoint, we know that prophecy has been partially but amazingly fulfilled with the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

But this passage also has application for us when we have lost hope.

After the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples were discouraged in what must have seemed like an impossible situation. When Jesus died on that cross and was buried, their hope died and was buried as well. Indeed, the two sad disciples on the road to Emmaus verbalized it: “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).

Yet later, huddled in that upper room, behind locked doors for fear of the Jewish authorities, Hope appeared in human form! In John 20:21, Jesus, our Living Hope, spoke a word of comfort and commission to His discouraged disciples: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

But then the Risen Lord did something fascinating for His group of “spiritually scattered skeletons” in John 21:22: “He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Fast forward to the Day of Pentecost, when the wind blew, the fire fell, and the Spirit filled them, and we witness how these fearful followers became lions for God! In the presence of the Risen Jesus, and now with His presence in them, they experienced their hope restored. Instead of spiritually scattered skeletons, God now had a great and mighty army that proceeded to turn the world upside down for Christ as they marched through the pages of the book of Acts and beyond!

Consequently, Ezekiel 37 and Resurrection Sunday is a reminder that nothing, I repeat, nothing is impossible with God. God is the master of bringing possibility out of impossibility, of literally bringing life out of death! When you find yourself losing hope, go ahead and raise the white flag of surrender, offer the dry, scattered bones of your impossible looking situation to the God who speaks new life, who breathes fresh hope, and watch Him do the impossible. When you find yourself losing hope, He not only restores our hope, He is our Living Hope!

AUTHOR

Kenyn Cureton

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Christmas in a Violent Age

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It’s the part of the Christmas story that’s usually put to the side. Almost an afterthought — and certainly never included in the kids’ Christmas pageant — is what was often depicted in Renaissance paintings as “the slaughter of the innocents.” Matthew recounts it in his gospel:

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’” (Matthew 2:16–18, ESV)

Christmas songs like “Away in a Manger” bring to mind images of a non-crying baby laying down his sweet head, as cattle low nearby. The presence of cattle in the nativity narrative is only artistic speculation, but the presence of a very real and a very near violence is certain.

Over two millennia later, it seems like the violence is only getting worse. Just think about the past year. From the most recent incident of a terrorist driving a car into a crowded Christmas market in Germany, to the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, to the assassination of a CEO, to war in Israel and Ukraine, mass murders at American schools and in elderly communities in Haiti, to a million unborn children in the U.S. alone killed by abortion, to the bodily mutilation of children in the name of trans identity, it all seems like it’s coming toward us at an unparalleled rate.

Yet Herod’s slaughter of the innocents — collateral in an attempt to kill the Messiah — shows us that such violence is nothing new. It’s endemic to human behavior, going all the way back to Cain’s murder of his brother Abel and culminating with the cross, where the enemies of Jesus seemingly finish what Herod started three decades before.

Violence seems to follow humans wherever we go. It’s never convenient, always disruptive, and never fails to hurt more than its initial target. Jesus himself said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” In an attempt to dislodge, derail, and disrupt, the enemies of God level violence against his people, his movement, and his ways.

As his people, followers of Jesus are no less immune to the violence leveled at him. Since the time of Christ, his followers have experienced persecution, and it’s still going on in the world today to various degrees. In the logic of the world, to follow a God who is followed by so much violence makes little sense. And it makes even less sense for him to become incarnate as a person most vulnerable — a baby — to violence. Jesus was laid in a manger, not a fortress. He was born to a young virgin engaged to a carpenter, not to people considered powerful in the eyes of the world.

Herod’s decree was sweeping — with a death sentence for all male children two years old and younger, none could escape. But God’s provision of protection for Jesus prior to Herod’s decree shows us that even a malevolent, violent world cannot thwart the plan of God to put violence to death. The call by an angel to Joseph to move his family to Egypt — where his people escaped from slavery and violence from the armies of Pharoah long before — must have seemed nonsensical. Yet Joseph’s obedience kept his adopted son from Herod’s seemingly foolproof massacre.

Jesus escaped murder by a king as an infant so that he as an adult might be murdered as King of Kings. The second verse of William Chatterton Dix’s 1865 carol, “What Child Is This?” makes this point in especially poignant way:

“Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce him through,
The Cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary!”

The peaceful baby lying in a manger means little to us if he doesn’t grow into the man, crucified on the cross for our sins, buried in the grave, and risen from the dead. Only the Jesus who suffered violence for us will save us. “Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you.” For he himself is our peace. May he save us in this violent age.

AUTHOR

Jared Bridges

Jared Bridges is editor-in-chief of The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

How to Avoid Political Turmoil with Your Family This Thanksgiving

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After every presidential election in our nation, millions of Americans are elated, while millions of others are dejected. And this year is no different.

A politically divided nation ensures that many extended families will likely face some contentious conversations this holiday. But it doesn’t have to play out that way with your family. Imagine experiencing tremendous unity this Thanksgiving, in spite of any political differences that may exist.

While you cannot control the decisions your relatives make, you can certainly do your part to avoid political turmoil and contentiousness. Pray that your family members will be accepting of one another this Thanksgiving, and that everyone will hold their tongue if tempted to gloat over the election results or to become contentious.

Once everyone has arrived on Thanksgiving, maybe someone could begin your festivities by offering the following prayers for the family: 1. Give thanks to God for all His blessings; 2. Ask God to bless the food you will enjoy that day; 3. Ask God to bless all the conversations.

Christian missionary Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) said, “Prayer lays hold of God’s plan and becomes the link between His will and its accomplishment on Earth.” And the Scottish evangelist and teacher Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) wrote, “God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”

“God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). And this is why the Holy Spirit will lead and empower followers of Christ to promote peace and order this Thanksgiving. After all, what good can come from a divisive and chaotic family gathering that spins out of control?

In addition to prayer, we can put Romans 14:19 into practice: “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” That is to say, be intentional about avoiding political confrontations this Thanksgiving. Make every effort to build one another up with words of encouragement.

Come up with some topics to discuss on Thanksgiving that everyone will enjoy. Visit about one another’s interests, while avoiding political controversy. Family members who are agitated over the election results will likely already be on edge when they walk through the door. Followers of Christ should avoid topics that might trigger a loved one to become upset.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15). The same thing applies to any political comments you might be tempted to make this Thanksgiving. If a relative becomes distressed because you are rubbing the election results in their face, you are no longer acting in love.

Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Friendly and loving conversations tend to unite, whereas political combativeness only divides.

Do you have some topics in mind to discuss this Thanksgiving? Make a list of some non-political issues that are important to your family. Visit about things that provide hope. “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4).

If someone throws a political grenade into the middle of your Thanksgiving celebration, maintain self-control. And if anyone expresses anger or intense animosity, remember this biblical principle: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:4). God will help you exhibit gentleness, even in the face of aggression.

Always remember: “Love is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5). This is exactly how God loves His children whose sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus. If you are keeping a record of wrongs committed against you by any of your relatives, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to let go of grudges as you choose to “forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew 5:9). Will you choose to be a peacemaker this Thanksgiving, even if someone attempts to pick a political fight? The Holy Spirit will give you the self-control necessary to hold your tongue while responding to any sarcastic comments with tenderness and compassion.

David made a particular request of the Lord that you can use in your personal prayers. “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil” (Psalm 141:3-4). Regardless of what others choose to say, you can respond with sensitivity and empathy.

Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we could be reconciled to our Father in Heaven, and then do our best to be reconciled to others in Jesus’ name. The Bible instructs us: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

In other words, if we refuse to live in peace with others, we are refusing to live in peace with God. Followers of Christ are “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). You can love your family this Thanksgiving by speaking kind words, as well as by keeping certain thoughts to yourself. Silence is golden.

There are of course times when the Holy Spirit leads followers of Christ to visit privately with a relative about a delicate matter that needs to be addressed. In those situations, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Jesus said, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). If you celebrate Thanksgiving prayerfully and with the right mindset, your kindness will honor the Lord and be a huge blessing to your family.

This article was originally published in The Christian Post.

AUTHOR

Daniel Delzell

Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.

EDIORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.