Once the beautiful miracle of birth is over, the messy reality of “afterbirth” comes. This same process takes place in our spiritual lives, too, because there’s a mess in the life of every believer after we’re born again. While we still have consequences for our actions, Jesus not only gives us life after birth — He also gives us afterlife in eternity with Him.

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth, but in a way, it’s also a reminder of His sacrifice. Just as He was wrapped up in swaddling clothes as a baby when He was first declared the Messiah, He was later wrapped and buried after His death — a death He died all so that we could have eternal life. God offers us the gift of salvation, wrapped up in His Son — and all we have to do is reach out and receive it.

For centuries throughout Old Testament times, the people waited on the promise that a Messiah would come. During that period of waiting, the Israelites experienced a lot of darkness before the Light of the world arrived. Like them, we all go through difficult seasons, but when we cling to the hope we have in Christ, He brings light to the darkest corners of our lives.

When it comes to letting Jesus into our lives, many of us are more likely to put up a “No Vacancy” sign than we are to roll out the welcome mat. But when we finally turn off the “No” and make room for Him, Jesus changes our hearts and our lives from the inside out.

Sometimes God calls us to move. But other times, He calls us to stay. Regardless of what the instructions are, when God tells us to do something, we should do it! The only safe place we can ever be is exactly where He’s called us.

God gave up His only Son so that we could be offered the gift of eternal life — for free. When we receive that gift from Him, we can’t help but offer ourselves, our whole lives, back to God. And when we surrender to Him, He’s able to do amazing things with us and through us beyond anything we could ask or imagine!

There are too many different elements of the Gospel story that line up perfectly for it to be dismissed as coincidence. It’s not bad to question why we believe what we believe, but at some point we have to have faith in what the Bible says or pass it off as nothing more than a hoax. If it’s a hoax, there’s no “Christ” in Christmas…and if there’s no “Christ” in Christmas, then we’re still waiting for a Messiah who will come and save us from our sins.

Mary wasn’t perfect. And yet, God used her to bring His Son into the world. After Mary gave birth to Jesus, she continued to be faithful and followed Old Testament law by bringing fowls to the temple to be sacrificed. Little did she know that she’d also brought the Lamb of God, who would become the ultimate sacrifice and take away the sins of the world.

The Israelites wasted 20 years because they refused to repent and follow the Lord. The consequence of their actions was that they only made things worse for themselves! Sometimes, when we wait to repent, God brings more consequence in order to draw us back to Himself. But the good news is this: He will always deliver us when we call on Him.

God called Mary to bear His Son — the Messiah who would be born to save mankind. Mary’s response to God was one of faith and obedience, but it was also one of dependence on Him to equip her with all she’d need to carry out His plan. Like Mary, God calls each of us to the kind of obedience that requires our dependence on Him. When He leads us into situations where we have to rely on Him, it allows our faith to grow and Him to show the amazing works only He can do through us.