<span style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" data-mce-type="bookmark" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> Between Leftovers and Lights Thanksgiving barely cools on the table… those last brave slices of pumpkin pie still hiding in the fridge… when the calendar slips an arm around our shoulder and whispers, “Don’t stop now.” Because all that gratitude you poured out over your turkey on Thursday? Well, my challenge here is to let it guide our hearts toward The Gift that surpasses every other gift you’ve ever unwrapped, echoing the biblical call to focus on Christ’s ultimate gift. So look… God didn’t just sprinkle blessings into your year… He stepped into the world. In flesh. In blood. In humility so shocking it still rattles angels. So when the Thanksgiving tablecloth gets folded up, and those familiar Christmas melodies start drifting through the house like holy invitations, we’re not “changing holidays.” So let’s double down. Let’s let gratitude get focused, grow wings, grow forward… straight toward the Child whose birth makes every blessing possible. Advent: Where Gratitude Leans Forward Under a sky full of stars and danger at their backs, the Holy Family slips through the night toward Egypt, carried by God’s promise that ‘out of Egypt I have called my Son. Think about it… Advent isn’t soft background music. It’s a season where heaven itself leans in. It whispers: “I’m not finished with My people.” It teaches us the holy art of thanking God not just for what He has done, but for the glory He’s still rolling at us. Advent is gratitude with a telescope. Gratitude that anticipates. Gratitude that hunts for the promises of God like a man starved for light hunts for sunrise. And right as we step into this sacred waiting, Scripture tosses us a tiny spark… a line in Matthew most people sail past without noticing… reminding us of the biblical promise fulfilled in Christ’s coming. “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” It’s only eight words. But it’s a fuse. Light it… and suddenly the whole Bible ignites. A Line We Almost Skip—But Shouldn’t “Out of Egypt I called my son.” This isn’t a decorative ribbon on the edge of the Christmas story. It’s a key… a divine master key that unlocks a story big enough to swallow your fears, your failures, and every prison you’ve ever walked through. This one line ties Israel, Jesus, and you into a single unstoppable story of bondage shattered and sonship restored. It’s a thread… running from Exodus to Bethlehem to your living room. A Shadowed Corner of the Christmas Story Everyone knows the warm part of the Christmas scene… the manger glow, the angel choir… The shepherds were practically sprinting to see the newborn King. But tucked behind all that beauty is a darker chapter: a tyrant king sharpening blades, a midnight escape, and Joseph hustling his tiny family south to Egypt under a blanket of stars. Right here… in the middle of the holiest night… Scripture gives us danger, flight, and uncertainty. And Matthew drops that cryptic line again: “This was to fulfill… ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.” Follow that thread backward, and suddenly the Bible lights up like a burning bush. Not Symbolism… A Divine Blueprint Matthew here isn’t pulling a poetic rabbit out of a prophetic hat. He’s reaching back to Hosea 11:1, where God says: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Here, “son” means Israel—the adopted child God dragged out of Pharaoh’s iron grip. This isn’t metaphor. It’s rescue. This is God breaking chains in real time, in real history. But that rescue becomes the pattern… the silhouette… of a greater rescue. Israel is the sketch. Jesus is the masterpiece. And by grace, the church, all God’s people, is brought into the frame. Israel: The Adopted Son Who Wandered Israel was God’s adopted son… chosen, cherished, carried. But even after walking out of Egypt, they kept dragging Egypt inside their hearts. They wanted their old chains back. They wandered like a son who never realized the wealth of the home he’d been carried into. The adopted son needed a faithful Son. A flawless Son. A Son who could walk the path Israel kept stumbling off. Jesus: The True Son Who Gets It Right Now watch the divine pattern snap into focus: Jesus goes to Egypt too… but not as a slave. He enters as a protected Child. And when He comes back, He does what Israel never could: He keeps the law perfectly. He crushes temptation completely. He carries zero “Egypt consciousness” in His bloodstream. Where Israel dragged chains into the Promised Land… Jesus breaks chains wherever He walks. Where Israel failed, breaking God’s law, Jesus kept it. Where Israel deserved judgment, Jesus bears it. Where Israel wandered, Jesus obeys. The true Son steps into the rebel son’s story… So he can rewrite it from the inside out. Believers: Adopted Because the Son Came Out of Egypt And here’s the miracle… His story becomes ours. Paul says that because God sent His Son, we receive adoption as sons. We’re not just rescued… we’re brought home. Not just forgiven… we’re welcomed. Not just not-slaves… we’re heirs. So the family line becomes threefold: Israel – the adopted national son Jesus – the natural, and eternal Son The church – adopted in the Son This means Egypt isn’t just a past event… It’s your testimony. It’s where you were. And it’s where God refused to leave you. One Story. One Lord. One Kingdom. If the sonship flows from Israel to Christ to the church, then Scripture isn’t a chopped-up timeline. It’s one family story with one Father and one King. Grace redeemed Israel. Law shaped them. Grace saves us. The law still teaches us how to walk free, not as enslaved people but as sons. Obedience isn’t legalism. Obedience is family resemblance. Called Out of Egypt—Still Today “Egypt” is more than geography; it symbolizes the place where chains feel normal, where idols promise freedom but feed bondage, challenging us to choose spiritual liberation over slavery. Yep, Egypt is where chains feel normal. Egypt is the voice of idols that promise freedom but feed bondage. Egypt is where sin whispers, “Just stay.” To cling to Egypt while claiming sonship is spiritual double-talk. It’s Christmas sentiment without Christmas surrender. But the Child who went down to Egypt came back. The Son who went down into death rose. And the King who ascended now reigns until every enemy… and every chain… is under His feet. Christmas: The Global Exodus So let’s say it plainly: Christmas is not a soft, sentimental detour. Christmas is God thundering into the world: “The Exodus goes global.” In Christ— Strangers become sons. Slaves become heirs. Sinners become saints. And wanderers learn to walk free. The Son has come out of Egypt. And through Him, God calls you— out of darkness, out of bondage, out of the old world, into a life of sonship, freedom, and holy fire. A life that stands tall, steps boldly, and quietly hums the anthem of every redeemed child: He is Lord and Savior… here, now, and everywhere I place my feet.