And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leapt in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. — Luke 1:41
Across the world today, there are a lot of excited people. Children are excited because of the gifts that they may receive tomorrow. Some adults are excited because of the same thing. Some of those gifts can be life-changing, like a marriage proposal perhaps. Others are gifts that perhaps fill wants and desires.
Sometimes the anticipation is what is the hardest. It is the anticipation of the unknown, but the excitement of what is to come. Even as we celebrate the birth of Christ over 2,000 years later, nothing has really changed.
Before His birth, there was an anticipation of what was to come. People were looking for a Savior who could redeem them from their sins. Throughout the Old Testament, they were told of His coming, but He had yet to appear. But in this verse in Luke, we see what happens even before He was born. Elisabeth simply heard Mary say hello, and the babe in her womb leapt in joy over the Savior in the womb of Mary. It is just another example to prove those wrong that baby’s do not have their senses in the womb as it is evident John heard Mary’s voice and understood what was taking place.
But many people are in anticipation of things on Christmas that they will never find. While they look for those brand new toys, fancy new cars, diamond rings, new clothes, or whatever their heart may desire, they will end up being left void on the inside because the things of this world can never satisfy. John was not leaping just because of Jesus being in the womb. He was leaping was because the cure for the sin of the world, which had been promised, was delivered.
So while the world sits in anticipation of Christmas Day this year, we have to look beyond the anticipation to see what the day is really about. We are not celebrating the amazing gifts, time with family, or many other things. Those things will only satisfy for a short period of time. Instead of anticipating gifts, we should be celebrating that our Savior was born and be anticipating the fact He said that He would come again! It is a hope that goes beyond Christmas.