Christmas may be the happiest season for many, but not for everyone. For those who are sick, have lost a loved one, are going through a financial struggle or difficult circumstances, are away from their families, don’t have a loving family, are in a broken relationship, etc., the season is not joyous.

So, let us all meditate and reflect on what Christmas truly means.

Luke 2:19 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger, an angel from heaven appeared to the shepherds nearby who were tending their sheep and “proclaimed the Good News that will cause great joy for all people because a Savior has been born.”

Of all the people in society at that time, God chose the shepherds, the lowest of men, to announce Jesus’ birth. He did not announce it first to the rulers, the highly educated, the wealthy, but to the simple—the people that society considered unworthy.

Why? Because this act reflects God’s great love for humanity and His humble heart. He desires our reverence, obedience, and childlike faith in Him.

As we celebrate Christmas, may our focus be not just on food, gifts, carousing, and drinking, but let us be like Mary, who “pondered” what this moment means.

God came in human flesh, in the humblest of circumstances, to become one with us, to empathize with our human frailty, struggles, pain, and, yes, also our joys and hopes.

Luke 4:18 says,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”

Merry Christmas, everyone, and let us rejoice because our salvation and Immanuel has come.