Advent: December 23

As I was growing up, my family dubbed this day Christmas Adam. You know, because Adam came before Eve.

We always have a special celebration on Christmas Adam. Sometimes, we go crazy and eat somewhere other than our local Mexican restaurant. We may see a movie or watch one of our holiday favorites at home. It's a night that we all look forward to.

And it never hit me until recently how my family's name for this day, Christmas Adam, really holds a double meaning. Because this whole story of Christmas, this beautiful narrative, really goes back to Adam.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:1

Adam and then Eve lived in the perfect Garden of Eden . . . Until the fruit tempted and sin invaded. Everything changed. And on that Bethlehem night in a stable, everything changed again when our Redeemer came to earth.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."

John 1:14,16

God came down in human form to offer us redemption for our sins. He came for Adam and Eve and Abraham and David and you and me. He came to renew all who would believe.

He came to give us a new heaven and a new earth—a new garden. To give us new life.

Our world feels so distant from Eden today. Will we ever stop arguing? Will disaster ever stop happening? Will we ever get good news? Even today, across the country, pipes are bursting, passengers are stranded, and people are freezing.

But the hope of Christmas, the hope of this entire season, and the hope of believers in Christ is that this story will come full circle.

There will be a day with much fruit. There will be a day when we are cultivating His Kingdom together. There will be flourishing and light. There will be fulfillment we can't even wrap our minds around.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

Whatever your tradition is this Christmas Adam (or maybe you are normal and don't have one), may we not miss this beautiful redemption story. Adam needed saving, Eve needed saving, and you and I need saving. And by the grace of God, our Savior has come.