Grab a piece of paper and pen, or open the notes app on your phone. Write down the first five words that come to mind when you think of Christmas. Then come back to this post and keep reading. Go for it! Maybe even ask the people around you for their five.
Now you’re back…what five words did you write? What were the first five words that came to your friends and family’s mind? If I had to guess, I suspect the most famous Christmas words are in two categories.
First, the religious words: Baby Jesus, Angels, Shepherds, Star, Manger, Nativity, Mary & Joseph, Wise Men, and Bethlehem.
Second the nonreligious words: Santa, reindeer, elves, Christmas tree, presents, cookies, mistletoe.
Did I cover most of your words? I doubt it. There are so many holiday words. I searched online for articles about the famous holiday words, and my list of words is tiny by comparison. There are articles suggesting the Top 50 Christmas words, or even the Top 200, or this one that has words starting with every letter of the alphabet. Skim through those articles, and see if they covered all of your words.
But there is one word missing from those lists. I wonder if your lists included this word. I believe a case can be made that the word I’m thinking of is the most important Christmas word. If you have been following my Advent blog series, you might already know what that vital word is. Why? Because my Advent blog series is about the four words of Advent. So far we’ve studied Advent Hope, Advent Peace, and Advent Joy. Do you happen to know the fourth word of Advent? I think it is the most important.
Join me back here on the blog this coming Monday to find out. For a clue, read 1 John 4:7–21. Actually, that passage is more than a clue. I think you’ll find 1 John 4:7–21 declares the fourth Advent word as if it were on a flashing hi-def billboard.
Engaging Scripture 
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