As we approach the celebration of Jesus’ birth, who better to help us consider the riches of his grace than the apostle Paul? In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,” (Isa. 64:4) and then added, “but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:10) The mystery and wonder of the Gospel completely captivated Paul, so much so that he considered everything else in this world to be “a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” as his Lord. (Phil. 3:8)
Since we have spent months now journeying with Paul in the book of Acts, it seemed a particularly appropriate year to turn to his letters during Advent and Christmas. With Paul—and like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men–we will marvel at the wondrous gift we have been given. A year ago, none of us could have imagined celebrating Christmas in the midst of a pandemic, but no matter what the future holds, we can rejoice because there is truly nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:39)