Christmas Eve

Revelation 12:11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Christmas eve conjures up so many images for me. I think of Christmas carolers and hot cider. I remember the children’s musical productions and the cute attempts to be a ‘Mary and Joseph’ for the manger scene. Those baby dolls never seemed to cooperate with their ‘parents’.

What does Christmas eve bring up for you? Maybe anticipation of the gift you hoped and longed for in the morning. The cousins would descend on the house for the big meal. The snow would be waiting for our sleds and skates. The pond was frozen, so the skates would be the first place we headed.

But there are other images, images of disappointment and emptiness. Loud fights, hiding for safety, and trips to the ER. Not all Christmas memories or images would fit on a Hallmark card.

John, the writer of the Revelation, has a different picture, a picture with a telephoto lens, past the manger to the Cross and beyond. His image includes the suffering and pain that these first century believers were enduring. But it doesn’t stop there.

John’s image of all history includes as the centerpiece a picture of heaven, the abode of the Creator God. In contrast to Satan, the accuser of God’s people, we see triumphant humans joining into the gathering of all those who belong in God’s presence. We see them in triumph over Satan. They made it!

And how did they make it? John points out that we will be there because of Jesus’ sacrifice, nothing else. It is His life, death and resurrection that secured our place with Him in Heaven. There was a price to be paid for our rebellion, and that price was His obedience. As the Second Adam, Jesus did what Adam wouldn’t do: Jesus accepted the Father’s rule.

But Jesus wasn’t all that these believers stood on as they made it. They confirmed their connection to Jesus by the word of their testimony. Their lives gave witness to the change in their hearts. They had given up the leadership role over their own lives and allowed the LORD to lead and guide, moment by moment. They were not their own; they were bought at a price, and their lives reflected that transaction.

But in their circumstances, under persecution from both Rome and a sometimes hostile Jewish community, they faced death. Their witness put them in harm’s way. Countless believers around the world face this today. To name the name of Christ marks them for death.

It has not reached this point in our country yet, but there may come a time when the choice is simple: reject Jesus or die. How hard will we cling to this life? How hard will we cling to Jesus? I pray we experience the grace to hold on tight to Jesus when that moment comes.