When I was about 12 or 13 years-old, my friends and I thought it would be fun to stage a fight in a high traffic area so passers by would think there was something wrong. May not have been the most appropriate thing for us hoodlums to be doing and I am not sure what we expected to have come of it, but we could have been doing much worse I guess.

So we had it all orchestrated the best that our adolescent minds could muster (surely, we were drawIng much inspiration from Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport or Kickboxer). The last thing that was said before the fisticuffs were to start flying was…

Make it Look Real.

Christ takes the reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation down for you to pick up in your own strength.

Christ takes the reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation down for you to pick up in your own strength.

And with that, the first punch was thrown. And landed . . . but none of them were suppose to really land. The person who was to be on the receiving end of the fake punch had been distracted and was not ready to dodge.

That was the end of our mock fight. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and there was no greater outrage that came from the event. Nobody stopped. Nobody called the cops. We shared a good laugh and moved on with life.

I laugh about this today. But as I use this story to reflect upon today’s devotion, I can’t help but think about that simple phrase:

Make it Look Real.

We talk about Christ and we say that “He died for our sins” or “His blood was shed for us” – but do we really consider how very real that moment was? Can we even fathom such a thing? That the ONE person who walked this planet that was 100% completely innocent would not only die for us, but that He did so willingly and without a second thought?

He didn’t just make it all “look” real. He MADE IT REAL.

Perhaps we’re numb to brutality, death, betrayal, greed and other sinister actions. Perhaps we’re more separated from Christ that we might want to believe. I’m providing the last paragraph of today’s devotion below. I urge you to think about this and prayerfully think about it as we draw closer to Christmas.

So the meaning of Christmas is not only that God replaces shadows with Reality, but also that he takes the reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation down for you to pick up in your own strength. He picks it up and puts in your heart and in your mind, and seals to you that you are a child of God.

This is a personal reflection of today’s Advent devotion from Great News for Great Joy (download for free now from Desiring God). Please also share your reflections in the comments area.