Day 11 (21 Dec): When Christmas Hurts

Galatians 4:4 - 7

We were created by God and for God. But the law of God convicts us of this - we chose rebellion against Him. In so doing, we alienated ourselves from Him and from one another. A big way in which we experience fallenness is in the form of broken relationships and disconnectedness from those around us. Sadly, even Christmas can be a lonely and painful time for some of us because of these difficult realities. 

Dear friend, if you are wrestling with relational brokenness in this season, would you preach the good news of Christmas to yourself? Gal 4:4-5 tells us:

⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

If you are in Christ, Jesus has taken your curse of sin that marked you as a slave, and he has redeemed you to belong to God’s family. Our greatest need is to be restored to right relationship with God and Jesus has accomplished that for all who trust in him. 

Because of that, instead of being tempted to despair in times of loneliness, Gal 4:6 reminds us that we can cry out to our Father for his comfort and grace:

⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Have you been sinned against? Would you rely on the Spirit as you graciously extend forgiveness and forbearance? Have you sinned against someone? Would you humbly seek forgiveness and joyfully embrace repentance, confident that you are a forgiven child of God? 

Moreover, even if we continue to experience the relational pain of living in a fallen world, we have this hope that Gal 4:7 spells out:

⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

God has not only forgiven us in Christ. He has seated us around his table as his children and given us the hope of an eternal inheritance. Christmas is a reminder that King Jesus has come. Someday, he will return to make all things new and wipe away every tear from our eyes. Until then, let us bear witness to our kingdom hope amidst a broken world.

Pr Kenneth Teo

Orchard Road Presbyterian Church