“In the barn on Christmas Eve, after all the people leave, The animals in voices low, remember Christmas long ago.” So begins The Animals’ Christmas Eve. In this children’s book, the animals retell the first Christmas, recalling the birth of the Christ-child and how He was laid in one of their feeding troughs. The story ends: “Twelve chimes ring out from far away—the lovely bells of Christmas Day. And every beast bows low its head, for one small babe in a manger bed.” The natural world has a stake in Christmas, too, for as today’s reading makes clear, the hope of redemption extends to creation (vv. 19–22). the Apostle Paul explained that creation is in “bondage to decay” (v. 21) not by its own fault, but rather due to the sinful choice of Adam and Eve, whose Fall brought death into the world. When God’s plan of redemption is complete, and “the freedom and glory of the children of God” are fully realized (v. 21), then, too, will nature be liberated. This process is like childbirth: Pain leads to new life. Creation’s groaning resonates with our own (vv. 23–25). We, too, are waiting. We have “the firstfruits of the Spirit” as a down payment, but the full “redemption of our bodies”—that is, the day we will have resurrection bodies like Christ’s—is yet future (v. 23). Our “adoption to sonship” has begun, but the full inheritance has not yet been received (v. 23). Patient waiting is required. This is the hope of salvation: in the armor of God, the helmet that protects our head (1 Thess. 5:8). What we are waiting and hoping for, with faith-filled certainty, is so precious that our present sufferings are not worthy of comparison (v. 18). Salvation is a present truth and a future hope! >> Consider well-known Scripture stories from a different perspective. Choose one character (an angel, a shepherd, the innkeeper, or maybe even a sheep) and try relating what happened the first Christmas from their viewpoint.