The air grows warmer, the days stretch longer, and the calendar feels fuller. All of these unmistakable signs remind us that Christmas is almost here.
Many Australians have already strung up their lights, wrapped presents, decorated trees, stocked the pantry and dusted off their Christmas carol albums. Those of us who haven’t are quickly forming a mental to-do list!
Christmas is the season of anticipation. Weeks of thought and planning are dedicated to the treasured times we will spend with family and friends.
All of us at Australian Christians are looking forward to the upcoming break after an amazing 2024, in which we have seen more candidates fielded, more voters informed and more election strategising than ever before. Like you, we can’t wait to rest, spend time with loved ones, and embrace the anticipation of the season.
But what exactly is it about Christmas that fills us with anticipation?
For many, these feelings of anticipation began in childhood, when we looked forward to the promise of presents and delicious food and a visit from the jolly man in the big red suit.
The older we get, the more our anticipation broadens beyond the gifts and the goodies to the more intangible and satisfying things in life. A break from the year’s routine. Time together at home. Barbecues and beach trips. Family traditions that might seem silly to others but mean the world to us. The joy we experience by witnessing the joy of children.
But the anticipation of Christmas goes deeper still. In the Christian tradition, the four weeks leading up to Christmas are called Advent, and they are set aside as a time to reflect and prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.
Christmas is the ultimate act of God’s humility. It marks the moment our Creator stepped down from the glory of heaven into a filthy manger to purchase the salvation of all mankind.
Christmas is a celebration of God’s intervention in the darkness and chaos of human history, inviting every heart to welcome the humble Saviour. Lines from beloved Christmas carols give voice to this awesome reality — like “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,” “Let every heart prepare him room,” and “Come adore on bended knee”.
Indeed, there may be no greater season of worship than Christmas, and no sweeter worship songs than the carols we sing at Christmas time. Advent is a season when the gates of heavenly paradise swing open to yearning hearts, and every little ornament and observance becomes a signpost pointing to the baby born in Bethlehem.
We celebrate the coming of Christ at Christmas, and yet our anticipation of the season is never fully fulfilled, since the moment Christmas ends, the clock begins ticking toward the following Christmas.
It is here that we realise the deepest anticipation of Christmas is not an event in the past but one yet future.
Christmas points us forward to something more permanent — something that will finally fulfil our deepest longings.
Just as the prophets of old foretold the arrival of Jesus as a baby, they also predicted his return in vivid detail. Christ’s second coming will disrupt our lives in ways beyond anything we could imagine.
On that day, “peace on earth” will no longer be fleeting or incomplete. The Prince of Peace will take his rightful place on the throne, putting an end to all rebellion and injustice. Every person will come face-to-face with their eternal destiny. For those who placed their trust in the Saviour, it will be a day of healing and eternal joy in his perfect presence.
Are you prepared for that final day? This is the heart of Christmas. No Christmas celebration fully satisfies the hope and expectation we place on it because Christmas points us to a far greater reality yet to come.
As C.S. Lewis famously wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
This is the reason for our anticipation at Christmas. As you get ready for Christmas, don’t overlook the most important preparation of all: making room in your heart for the King.
From all of us at Australian Christians, we wish you a Merry Christmas during this beautiful season, and a blessed and prosperous new year in 2025!
