We know the popular story of grace:
That God became man,
Was born of a virgin,
Laid in a manger,
Hailed by a herald of angels,
And visited by three wise men following a star.
This is the story we celebrate as Christmas.
​But I know a bigger story.
A story that dates back to before the beginning.
A story that started before God created the heavens and the earth;
A story that carries the eternal undertone: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
​It is a story whose opening line reads something like this:
“The shadow of the Cross was cast across the foundations of the world before the first stone was laid.” Its first literal reference is found in Revelation 13:8—the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (If you don’t know this verse, you might want to.)
​This story tells me that before the first “Let there be light,” there was already a “Let Me go.” It tells me that the God who measured the heavens with a span allowed Himself to be measured by a wooden manger.
He exchanged the symphony of angels for the silence of a womb, and then for the crying of a babe.
It wasn’t just a descent; it was a divestment. He exchanged glory—the garment of light and perfect, uninterrupted communion—for the limitations of skin, the gnaw of hunger, and eventually, the weight of abandonment.
It was a sacrifice He made before those for whom He gave it all even existed.
​Many believe the sacrifice began on the road to Golgotha.
But from this story, I know that even before the wood of the tree or the wood of the cradle, the Lamb had already been slain.
Because of this, I know that the grace He brings was not a reaction to our sin, but a pro-action of His character.
The gift of salvation to fallen man preceded the fall; it was the product of a love that was never constrained by time, because it existed before time began.
​How is it, then, that our response to a love that predates the world—a love that will outlast our physical existence—is merely “seasonal”?
Why is it bound to a calendar that fosters temporary feelings?
“Oh, Christmas… a season of love,” we say.
​Love? The same love that existed before life did?
The same love that existed before it even had a subject or object of expression?
Never. This love can never be “seasonal.”
​Here is what I say:
We are called to love with the same premeditated grace modeled by the One we celebrate.
Love before they deserve it.
Love before the person even enters your circle of care.
Love not because the calendar commands it,
But because an eternal plan demands it.
​So, while we celebrate the simplicity of the Messiah arriving in a manger,
While we sing of three kings bearing gifts,
And marvel at the herald of angels hailing His arrival…
​Remember that this love began before the beginning.
Remember that it is not bound by time or season.
Remember that the love you feel compelled to give today should be given even when the lights are no longer hanging on every street.
​Because the love story I know is summed up in this:
God loved the world so much that He gave Himself… before the world ever existed.
