Are We Actually Excited About Christmas?

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Every year Christmas creeps up on us — lights go up, songs start playing, calendars fill, and before we know it, December is here. But somewhere in the middle of the busyness, I have to stop and ask myself:

Am I actually excited about Christmas… or just busy with it?

Isaiah 9:1–7 is this great reminder that Christmas isn’t just a season — it’s a world-changing announcement. Light blasting into darkness. Hope stepping into hopelessness. But here’s the part that still makes me pause:

God brought this world-shaking change through a baby.

Not through a mighty army.
Not through political power.
Not through wealth, status, or strategy.

A child.

A small, fragile, helpless baby — born in a tiny town, laid in a feeding trough — who somehow carried the weight of every promise God ever made.

Isaiah says things like:

• “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

• “You have shattered the yoke that burdened them.”

• “To us a child is born… and the government will be on his shoulders.”

It’s wild, honestly. God didn’t choose force. He chose humility. He didn’t come loud; He came low. He didn’t enter the world as a warrior; He entered as a newborn. And yet — that is what changed everything.

So as Christmas comes closer, maybe the real question isn’t:

“Am I ready for Christmas?”

Maybe it’s:

“Am I amazed by Christmas?”
“Am I still stunned that this is how God chose to save the world?”
“Do I feel the wonder that a baby brought the change I could never bring myself?”

Because when we sit with that — when we really let it sink in that Jesus didn’t come to impress the world but to transform it — something shifts in us too. Hope grows. Joy rises. Light gets a little brighter.

And suddenly, Christmas isn’t just a holiday.

It’s a miracle.
A quiet, humble, world-changing miracle — and we’re invited to experience it again.

• Thomas Milne