I have a button that says, “Keep Christ in Christmas”. Pondering the up-coming holiday season, I became saddened at how secularized Christmas has become. For some, keeping Christ in Christmas may mean nothing more than
including Him with Santa Claus, Rudolph (flying reindeer?), Frosty the Snowman, company parties, etc.
The birth of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, is in and of itself the greatest miracle of all time. Isaiah spoke about His miraculous birth. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and declared: “Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Around this same period of time, presumably, an angel appeared to Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” What a declaration! What an event! The very God from ever-lasting would become flesh. He would be the seed (descendant) of David, the seed of Abraham, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This birth was foreseen from the very foundation of the world, and promised since the Fall of man.
The “Christ” (in Hebrew, “Messiah”) was to be born to destroy the works of the devil, and to “deliver those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” “God was manifested in the flesh”. Why? To take away the sin of the world. My sin, your sin. Not only our sinful thoughts and actions, but our very sin nature.
You see, the Incarnation is the proclamation, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” When He was born, the heavenly hosts praised God. It was a time for worship. When he was born, the lowly shepherds were told the good news, and “the wise men from the East” came to worship Him and present gifts to Him.
It is sad to say, but for most people Christmas is nothing more than another holiday. What part does Jesus Christ have in your home? What place does He have in your heart? One theme that prevails in the gospel is deliverance from bondage. How many of you will go into financial bondage this year in order to celebrate Christmas? Does Jesus require this of you? How many of you that are prospering will give gifts to the needy, orphans, and widows? After all, isn’t that “pure and undefiled religion” in the Spirit of the Incarnation?
Yes, enjoy your blessings and your family. They are God’s gifts to you. However, may we all do our part to peel away the secularization and commercialization of Christmas, and boldly proclaim the message of John :: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”
May your home and your heart be the place where Jesus Christ dwells as King of kings and Lord of lords!
