“We have not come like Eastern kings
With gifts upon the pommel lying.
Our hands are empty, and we came
Because we heard a baby crying.

We have not come like questing knights
With fiery swords and banners flying.
We heard a call and hurried here –
The call was like a baby crying.

But we have come with open hearts
From places where the torch is dying.
We seek a manger and a cross
Because we heard a baby crying” (Philip Britts).

 “How proper it is that Christmas should follow Advent. For him who looks toward the future, the manger is situated on Golgotha, and the cross has already been raised in Bethlehem” (Dag Hammarskjöld).

If you look at the whole of Jesus’ life, then you know that Christmas and Easter are not opposites in any way. In fact, you could almost say that they are one continuous holiday. Jesus’ mission started in the manger and led to the cross. His first recorded words were “I must be about my Father’s business” and His last were “It is finished.” Everything in between was His Father’s business. Everything.

Our business should be the same as Jesus — being about our Father’s business. The mission of my church is to be able to “engage the whole person with the whole gospel of Jesus Christ anywhere, anytime, with anybody.” Just as Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, we’re here to help people find Jesus. Better yet, we’re here to lead people to Jesus.

That’s not a Christmas Day or an Easter Sunday thing. That’s a 365 days out of the year thing. That’s an every day thing.