An old pioneer traveled westward across the Great Plains until he came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the Grand Canyon. He gawked in amazement. The chasm was a mile down, eighteen miles across and more than a hundred miles long. He gasped, "Wow, something big musta happened here!"

A visitor to our world at Christmas, seeing all the lights, the trees, the decorations, the parades, the festivities, the charitable actions and gifts, and all the religious services, probably would say the same thing: "Wow, something big musta happened here!"  And something big did happen. God put on flesh and came into our world as one of us on the first Christmas. That event changed all of history.

Unfortunately, few were watching that night. People went about their business at home, in their shops, in the marketplace, while God was doing His greatest and most creative work right under their noses.

That's one reason why Jesus says, "Watch! Be prepared!" Advent is a time of personal preparation for Christmas. And we have to be prepared if we want to see God's work. We have to stay awake and be alert so that Christmas can be meaningful. We have to prepare our hearts as well as our homes.