We know also that the Son of God has come . . .
He is the true God and eternal life.
(1 John 5:20, NIV)
On June 5, 2019, my wife, Cheryl, and I, along with another couple, were privileged to visit Normandy, France, the day before the seventy-fifth anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Our time there was moving and memorable. Seeing reenactors, watching WWII era planes soar overhead, talking with veterans who participated in the invasion, and visiting the cross-lined cemeteries—that day was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. What happened on that hallowed ground seventy-five years earlier changed the course of history and the lives of millions of people.
One event from that time is etched on my mind. On June 6, 1944, in a German prisoner of war camp, one of the prisoners was secretly listening to the BBC. Hearing of the allied invasion of Normandy, he could hardly contain himself. He began whispering three simple words to other prisoners, “They have come.” One prisoner was so overcome with joy that he threw reserve and restraint aside, ran into the barracks, and began shouting, “They have come. They have come.” Weak men jumped for joy. Strong men hugged each other and wept with excitement. Some stood on tables and shouted as others rolled on the floor in ecstasy. Their German captors, not knowing about D-Day, thought they had gone crazy. For the prisoners, nothing had changed outwardly, but inwardly everything had changed. Their rescue was certain. “They had come.”
The same is true of Christmas. Bethlehem was God’s Normandy. Jesus came to defeat the enemy and set the prisoners free. Our rejoicing should be no less great. We must not keep the news to ourselves. Our situation may not change externally, but internally everything changes. Rescue is certain. This Christmas we should loudly, joyfully proclaim—“He has come! He has come!”