One of the best parts of holidays is spending time with family. We come together, eat good food, and enjoy all sorts of fun with one another. No FaceTime; no phone calls. We're together—we're with each other. This is what we call the blessing of bodily presence. This wonderful gift is at the heart of Christmas.

Christmas is a season of great joy, and rightly so. But here's another truth: Christmas can be hard for some people. Maybe Christmas reminds them of sad days in the past. They possibly miss people who are not with them. It may be that they see other families enjoying closeness, but they are lonely. Perhaps Christmas actually ends up bringing more sorrow than normal seasons of life.

We've all been tempted to "upgrade" a story. When asked, "How many fish did you catch?" we may want to add an extra fish or two. When questioned about how many pages we've read for our assignment, we might pad our page count. Sometimes, we want things to sound a little better than they are.

Joseph doesn't have a huge role in many retellings of the Christmas story. He's represented by a figurine in our little plastic manger scenes. However, like that little plastic guy, he doesn't say much, do much, or factor into the story to a strong degree.

Every Christian sometimes feels the temptation to walk by sight rather than faith. In those low moments, we struggle to trust God with the future. We don't want to live "in the dark," in what feels like mist and fog, confused about what to do, where to go, who to trust, and how to think.

The strongest natural impulse of the human heart may be pride. It comes easily to all of us to be our own authority, deflect correction, and blame others when things turn out badly. That's why the birth of Jesus—the heart of the Christmas story—is so important.

Following Jesus' humble entrance into the world, "wise men" came to worship the child who had been "born King of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2). A wicked king named Herod heard the news and thought Jesus would take his place as king. Viewing Jesus as an enemy and secretly planning to kill Him, Herod consulted with court officials concerning the Messiah's birth and urged the wise men to find Jesus and report back to him—so that he could take His life. (We'll read more about Herod on another day.)

After Jesus was born, the Gospels give us not one but two groups of traveling worshipers. The first was a caravan of powerful, wise men. They were wealthy and influential power brokers. The second was a much lowlier group: shepherds.

In our study of the Christmas story, we've found numerous reasons why Advent is a wonderful time of year, as it should be for Christians. Because Jesus has come into the world, there is hope, there is gladness, and there is warmth in a cold place.