I once watched a show about a Christmas competition. All the competitor said they loved Christmas, but not one seemed to embrace the true meaning of Christmas. It was all about decorating, wrapping presents, and all the consumeristic elements of the holiday season.
We often hear that Christmastime is a person's favorite time of the year. But WHY? What is it about Christmas that everyone loves so much?
Yes, the lights are pretty, the cookies are delicious, and the presents are fun, but is that all there is to Christmas? Why do we hang up pretty lights, bake cookies, and exchange gifts? Because truly, a Christmas without Christ, is empty and void of true joy.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell completely, dragging all of humanity with them into the darkness and death of sin. And what did God do? He didn't shake His head at the mess we were in, and He didn't just shout down, "Good luck with that. I hope you make out of there someday!"
No, God came down to where we were and rescued us. That’s what Christmas is all about—God’s coming down to earth as a human being to rescue us—to do whatever it took to deliver us from spiritual death. And this rescue came with the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem around 5 BC.
Various traditions in different cultures have been associated with the celebration of Christmas, but the one unifying factor is the historical fact that Jesus was born. An angel appeared to some shepherds the night of Jesus’ birth said, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).
Jesus Christ is God's “indescribable gift” to us (2 Corinthians 9:15). He is also the reason Christians celebrate Christmas. It's because He was born that we hang up lights, bake cookies, and exchange gifts. These traditions are all tied to Jesus' arrival on the earth, as the Savior of the world.
Sometimes we get all caught up in the celebrating that we sometimes forget Who we are celebrating. Of course, there's nothing wrong with enjoying lights, cookies, and gifts. They're all a fitting celebration of our Savior's birth—as long as we don't forget the Savior who was born.
The New Testament of the Bible tells us that Jesus is the promised Messiah from the Old Testament scriptures. His birth was prophesied 700 years before it even happened (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; Deuteronomy 18:18; Psalm 110:4; Isaiah 11:1-4; Matthew 22:42; Isaiah 53). Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Messiah in that He was a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah (Luke 3:30), and He was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7) to a virgin (Luke 1:26-27).
God sent His One and Only Son to come into the world that He made so that He could provide a way for sinful humanity to be redeemed from the darkness and death of sin. If Jesus was never born, we would still be dead in our sin and separated from God for all of eternity (Romans 3:23). There would be no forgiveness of sins, there would be no peace, and there would be no eternity with Him in paradise.
Jesus was born in a lowly, humble place, underneath the stars He created, in the world that He spoke into motion, and under the care of people He knew would exist before the creation of the world. Think about that for a second... God was in complete control went He sent Jesus into our world, knowing that His Son would die so that humanity might live (2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:10). That is an act of complete, loving sacrifice and undeniable grace for an undeserving world.
We celebrate Christmas because Jesus was born for you, and He was born for me. He was born to set the captives free from sin (Luke 4:18), to take those who were once dead in sin and raise them to life in Him (John 11:25-26; Romans 8:11; Ephesians 2:6). This is love. And this is Christmas.
Every prophesy fulfilled.
Every promise kept.
Every soul rescued.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." —Ephesians 2:4-7
Christmas reminds us that God keeps His word (Isaiah 25:7-9). Christmas proves that God is a God of love (John 3:16-17). When there was no way in the darkest of night, He came and He made a way. He opened our eyes and awakened our souls. Through Jesus' birth, and ultimately His death and resurrection, He allowed us to be brought from death into life through His Son.
Because of Christmas, we now can know a truly joyful life—both now and in eternity. When we believe that Jesus came to live a perfect life, completely God yet completely man, to take on our punishment and pay the debt we owed for our sins, and then to be raised to life forevermore, we receive a gift from our Prince of Peace that transcends all understanding. We receive forgiveness of sins and we become new creations in Christ.
Indeed, the birth of Jesus ought to be celebrated—for our Savior, our hope, our redemption, our freedom, our salvation...our Jesus...has come!
"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.'" —Luke 2:10-11
Christmas reminds us that God keeps His word (Isaiah 25:7-9). Christmas proves that God is a God of love (John 3:16-17). When there was no way in the darkest of night, He came and He made a way. He opened our eyes and awakened our souls. Through Jesus' birth, and ultimately His death and resurrection, He allowed us to be brought from death into life through His Son.
Stephanie is a 21-year old with a passion to see believers grow and become passionate in their relationship with the Lord. She is a lover of sweat tea, sunshine, and the freedom that comes from Christ. In her free time, she can be found singing, playing guitar, writing or jamming out to Hawk Nelson, Phil Wickham, and worship music. Her dreams are to become a worship leader and a published author, while living a life full of fun and joy that comes from the Lord.
