The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The lyric from Andy Williams’ classic holiday song almost sings itself. The song is all about parties, sitting by the fire, singing together, and recalling memories from holiday’s past. One of the most commercially popular songs of all time spends two and a half minutes reminding us that the most wonderful time of the year is wonderful because it’s spent together.
Humans are drawn to one another. People are relational creatures who do not do well in isolation. No matter the personality type or enneagram number, solitude for too long can be confining.
We gain this relational nature from our Creator. In Genesis 1:27, the creation of mankind begins. “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.” Eden is the first couple’s home, but more importantly, it is God’s sanctuary— the garden temple where the Creator and his image-bearers relate. The image men and women carry is a relational image. In creation, God the Father was not acting alone. In John’s gospel account, there is evidently another present at the moment of creation. “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” Who is the “him” in this verse? It’s Jesus. In the Biblical account of creation - men and women, all people, are created in the image of, and to look like, God. The triune God. The relational God. It’s in our wiring to be in relationship.
God not only created us in His image to reflect His relational nature; He created us to be in relationship with Him.
In the story of the Exodus, God's presence is said to dwell in a tent called a tabernacle. “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Ex. 40:34) In Hebrew, the word “tabernacle” means dwelling place or residence. So the tent was where God’s presence resided. Later, In 1 Kings 8, the elders of Israel bring the ark of the covenant to rest in the inner sanctuary of the newly finished temple. The ark of the covenant symbolized the Lord’s ongoing presence with the Israelites. Since their days with Moses at Mount Sinai, the ark had been on the move. Now, it was brought into a permanent structure—the temple. Once it came to rest in the most holy place, “the glory of the LORD filled the temple” (1Kings 8:11).
But there is a problem, isn’t there? From Adam and Eve to the nation of Israel, the story of sin is replayed over and over. People replace blessings for curses when they break God’s commandments. Sin hinders everything, especially man’s experience of God’s presence.
But in grace, God steps in to pay the price.
The presence of God finds its greatest expression in Immanuel, God with us. God himself comes to save. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered human history to give his life as a ransom for many. God repurchases us in the most unimaginable way possible: God in Christ became a man, walked among humanity, and died for his people. In this merciful act, Christ reconciles us to himself and re-opens access to the Father so that those who were once exiled from his presence might again draw near to God. In Jesus, the presence of God was not a place; it was a person. No more tabernacle. The residence of God was a man. Jesus Christ. Immanuel.
The New Testament calls the church a temple for a reason. Paul tells the Colossians, “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.” (Col. 3:16-17)
Big implications.
The presence of God lives in you. God resides in you. You are His dwelling place.
Comfort, encouragement, safety, and assurance all belong to those who bear the name of Christ and are now called children of God. Why? Because Christians carry with them not just a testimony but a temple. Christians carry the presence of God.
Songs and sermons, prayers, and praise all invoke imagery and power associated with the presence of God. We believe, and rightfully so, that freedom can be found, hope can be re-established, and healing can really begin in the presence of God.
You know the feeling. Alone in the middle of a crowd of people. Isolated in the days of hyper connectivity. We know we were made for relationship with God, created to be with another and yet everyone feels so disconnected. We cry out to God asking for a miracle - for a tangible reminder that He’s near.
But what if what you’re praying for, singing about, and waiting for was right in front of you, or right beside you the whole time?
If Christians are where the presence of God can be found, and there is wonder-working power in His presence…then the greatest gifts we receive this Christmas season are not things but people. God's people.
You want to be in the presence of God?
Sing beside another Christian.
Pray beside another Christian.
Serve beside another Christian.
It is the most wonderful time of the year. A time when hearts will be glowing because loved ones are near. And for you who are in Christ, the loved one nearest you is the one who loves you the most - Jesus Christ.
