This is “good news of great joy” indeed. This is our hope! Hope that’s strong enough to build our lives upon and gentle enough to make us weep. I am reminded that in the same way Jesus came for mankind then, He comes to us now. In our brokenness, sin and defeat, Jesus comes in and gives us Himself. All we do is let Him be Himself with us. These 14 verses in Luke are the reason for our celebration this Christmas season and always! Just think about His humility, and how scandalous this is – He comes down among us, in our brokenness, and makes us whole. What grace! Colossians goes on to break this down a little more…what hits me when I read this is Jesus’ preeminence. Everything begins and ends with Jesus: Creation, the Church, reconciliation, and our entire lives. Praying that we receive Jesus in a new way this Christmas season.