In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ...
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not understood it.
The true light that gives light to every man,
was coming into the world ...
To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In my mind, to understand the reason we celebrate and anticipate the birth of the one called, Jesus, we need to return to the beginning - Genesis. Because of the choice Adam and Eve made, we were banished from the Garden. We were seperated from God. We were condemned to a life full of the knowledge of good and evil things. We were sentenced to death. But God had a plan. He did not wish us to live this way forever. So in an act of redemption, He banished us from the Garden, blocking the way to the Tree of Life. Now we would not eat from the tree of life, and live forever in the horrible state we were in. Death was the only hope. Yet, God did not want to be seperated from us for forever, so He set in motion a plan, that would develop over time, to bring His people back to Him.
This is the reason we hope. This is the reason we anticipate the birth of the King. This is the reason we celebrate the coming of the one called, Immanuel. Jesus Christ, the one who would save His people from their sins. The true light, that gives life to men, for those who believe in His name.
