“And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
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 these 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. I don’t mean to imply that I am the only “expert” on knowing how to really celebrate the Christ event, but I hope that you will find my thoughts enlightening, and that they will enable you have a merrier Christmas. 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.” Jesus’ saving us from our sins has to do, not just for this life, but for all eternity. 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 the idea of exchanging gifts at Christmas originated. What is a true spirit of giving? It is not a spirit of “getting” – if you get my drift. We are reminded in Acts 10:35 about what a “true spirit” of giving is: “I (Paul) have shown unto you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.”I think that a “true spirit” of giving is a spirit of excitement over the opportunity to give rather than to receive. We should celebrate Christmas in a genuine spirit of worship, adoration and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ for what His coming has meant to the world, and what His coming has meant to us. Again, we should emulate the Magi, who when they went into the house and saw the child Jesus with His mother Mary, “they fell down and worshipped Him.” All they knew about Jesus was what they had read. We know much more about Jesus, which is why we should certainly follow the Magi’s example and worship Him. Hopefully, you know what it means to know Jesus as your Savior. Hopefully, you know what it means to have a hope in this life that transcends anything that the world can give. Hopefully, you know what it means to experience His love on a daily basis. There are countless reasons to worship Him. As you celebrate Christmas this year, thank Jesus for His coming to save us from sin, give in the true spirit of giving that it is “more blessed to give than to receive," and worship Him for who and what He is in your life. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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