Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ by Timothy J. Keller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent set of meditations (from Keller's sermons over the many years of his pastorates) on the true meaning of Christmas and its implication for our lives. Keller takes a refreshing look at some of the standard Christmas Story passages, highlighting powerful insights that were very enlightening and encouraging to my faith.

“Christmas, therefore, is the most unsentimental, realistic way of looking at life. It does not say, “Cheer up! If we all pull together we can make the world a better place.” The Bible never counsels indifference to the forces of darkness, only resistance, but it supports no illusions that we can defeat them ourselves. Christianity does not agree with the optimistic thinkers who say, “We can fix things if we try hard enough.” Nor does it agree with the pessimists who see only a dystopian future. The message of Christianity is, instead, “Things really are this bad, and we can’t heal or save ourselves. Things really are this dark—nevertheless, there is hope.” The Christmas message is that “on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Notice that it doesn’t say from the world a light has sprung, but upon the world a light has dawned. It has come from outside. There is light outside of this world, and Jesus has brought that light to save us; indeed, he is the Light (John 8:12).”

“Christmas means joy—“glad tidings of great joy.” Here in verse 4, the passage ends on the same note. John is saying, “My joy will not be complete until you have the same joy in fellowship with God that we do.” The idea of joy is important in the writings of John. In John 16:22 Jesus promises that his followers’ joy will be unshakable, because the “full measure” of Christ’s own joy will be reproduced in us (John 17:13)—a remarkable prospect.”

Good book for an Advent devotional. Got a great deal on this on amazon.com, with help from BookBub.com on good e-book deals.


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