After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ~ Revelation 7:9-17
Christmas ultimately leads to the saints gathered in Heaven in white robes washed in the Blood of the Lamb. Jesus was born to become a sacrifice so we can have eternal life. We will stand before the throne of God, and we will never again hunger or thirst or be burned by the sun. God Himself will wipe away our tears, and Jesus Himself will shepherd us and lead us to springs of living water. Caught up in the celebrations of the newborn Babe, let us not forget the culmination of Jesus’ birth—His death and resurrection and our salvation and eternal life.
Thank You, Lord, that one day I will be in Heaven with You, free of all pain and sorrow and anxiety and the cares of this world. Give me endurance for this life and gratitude for the one to come. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.