“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
People celebrate Christmas in many different ways. It is viewed by many as a time for family and friends to get together. It is celebrated by the giving and receiving of gifts. It is celebrated, if that is the right word, by joining the crowds at the shopping malls across the country. I am not being critical here, because I also enjoy some of the secular activities surrounding Christmas. But the coming of Christ into the world is not a secular event that is to be celebrated during one season of the year. If you know Christ as your Savior, it is a daily celebration of what He has done for you. We should celebrate Christmas in a spirit of thanksgiving for what God has done for us in Jesus. The angel announced to Joseph concerning the birth of Jesus: “And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Saving us from sin is the stated purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world. Jesus did many mighty works that inform us about His deity, but these mighty works were not the main purpose of His coming. He came to “save His people from their sins.” Since the Garden of Eden, sin has been what has been wrong with the world, and the Bible plainly tells us the story of the devastation of sin. All we have to do is look around us to see the devastation of sin. We can point to our own battles in life that have to do with sin. When we realize the seriousness of sin in our own lives, we should celebrate all the more because Jesus saved us from it, and we should be thankful for it. We should celebrate Christmas in a true spirit of giving. Christmas is all about giving. John 3:16 tells us that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” When the Magi visited the family of Jesus, we are told: “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” My guess is that this is where we got the idea of exchanging gifts at Christmas. You will notice that I wrote that we should celebrate Christmas in a “true spirit” of giving. What is a true spirit of giving? I think that a “true spirit” of giving is a spirit of excitement over the opportunity to give rather than to receive. As you celebrate Christmas this year, thank Jesus for His coming to save us from sin, give in true spirit of giving that it is “more blessed to give than to receive," and in the process worship Him for who and what He is in your life. Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Linda Brooks
12/15/2016 07:54:49 pm
PRAISE GOD......HE IS WITH US !!!
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|