Christmas is such a special time of year. Nostalgic sights, smells, and sounds fill the air as we engage seasonal traditions, attend special gatherings, and seek out time with family & friends. Yet as Christians, this season holds a unique and unprecedented significance. The days leading up to Christmas, or Advent, is a time where we turn our minds, hearts, and affections toward Jesus and the story of grace. Whatever challenges we may be facing, Advent invites us to contemplate, celebrate, and wait in hopeful expectation for the completion of God’s redemptive story.
This year as we turn our attention to a savior born in the little town of Bethlehem, we invite you to join us on a journey to Bethlehem’s past, and a foreshadowing of the salvation that was to come.
A thousand years before the birth of our savior, we find in Bethlehem the story of Ruth. And much like the Christmas story we are invited into a quiet corner of the world where we find a story of loss, abandonment, estranged relationships—even death! Yet at the heart of it all we find a redeemer. Amid all the twists and turns, we find in Bethlehem the light of God’s grace shining as brightly then as it would a thousand years to come.
In this Advent season, may the light of God’s grace shine brightly upon us as, we too, are Destined for Redemption.