It’s natural to think that the way to prevent disappointment is to set lower expectations. The opposite is true with Christmas. If “the most wonderful time of the year” hasn’t always been so wonderful, the solution is not to expect less. Instead, this is the time of year when God teaches us to look for more. Today we see how God teaches us to look for a bigger aftermath to the birth of Jesus at Christmas. It’s easy for us to quickly move on from one big event the second it’s over and quickly move on to the next. But rather than immediately moving on from Jesus’ birth or just as quickly looking ahead to the ultimate fulfillment of his mission on the cross, today we get to pause on the everyday, ordinary obedience Jesus offered in our place. He became like us in every way and his entire life is the perfect substitute for ours.