This week, as I took an early morning run I found myself reflecting on what makes Christmas such a special time for me personally. As I ran through a neighborhood filled with Christmas decorations, visiting relatives, and fellow runners brimming with holiday spirit, the word that came to mind was “idyllic,” because in so many ways Christmas can be a perfect occasion:

• Surrounded by the company of loving friends and family,
• Christ momentarily taking center stage, even in our increasingly secular society,
• A temporary diversion from the pressures and problems of life.

In truth, Christmas is in many ways a small glimpse of heaven, as in heaven:

• We will forever be in the company of our heavenly father and heavenly family.
  • “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
  • “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’” (Revelation 21:3)

• The Lord will eternally be the focal point
  • “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God,who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb.’” (Revelations 7:9-10)

• We will forevermore be free from pain and suffering.
  • “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Mid run, however, I was awakened to the reality of our current state, as an ambulance sped past me, reminding me of the imperfect, fallen world in which we live today, a world desperately in need of the gospel, and believers committed to “no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15).

As 2013 begins, Empowering Action is committed to find and assist global, Gospel-centered ministries led by Christian brothers and sisters, working to eliminate the pain and suffering of poverty. Join us in this effort by supporting this cause.