Worldwide Christmas December 24, 2025 Devotional

LUKE 2:10-12 | ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹ to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

The first Christmas was radically imperfect. Yet the imperfections of the Messiah's arrival turn out to be the most beautiful elements of the event. For it is the downward descent of the divine King that takes our breath away. Down from eternity into time, from the throne into a feeding trough in a stable, from the adoration of the heavenly host to the stupefied wonder of the night shift shepherds, from the perfect peace of the Kingdom of light, to the strife and struggle of the darkened human plane, from the power and might of the Godhead to the vulnerable needy cry of a dependent baby.

The imperfection helps us remember that, in that moment, God came to us, all the way down to our mortal, broken, humble story—and He entered right in.

Which character (apart from baby Jesus) is your favorite in the story?

Gracious God,

You came down so we could rise. You sacrificed so we could be whole. You suffered so we might live. Hallelujah.

Amen.