During this season of the year, there are many delightful traditions and customs that promote joy, togetherness, and fun! Whether it’s a jolly fellow dressed in a Santa suit greeting children, a neighborhood party, or Christmas carolers going door to door, there are many great experiences to be had and joy to be shared. And although we should enjoy and embrace these positive times with family and friends, there one very important thing about Christmas we must take care not to overlook.
Look Deeper
In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, it can be easy for us to rush from one thing to the next, focusing on the task at hand and missing the beauty around us. Instead of being sucked into this frantic activity, we’ll do well to pause and remember what Christmas is about. It is about the love we share with others, but there is a truth deeper than even this lovely sentiment. That truth is this: that when we were estranged and distant from our Creator, God came down from heaven to be born a helpless baby in a dirty stable. Why would the glorious and all-powerful Maker of all things step down from glory to enter the world in such a humiliating way? Could the One who made the stars and the seas not manage to find a house to be born in?
God’s Gracious Plan
The humility of Christ’s birth was only exceeded by his humility in death, hanging naked on a cross, and these events both took place as they did for the same reason. That is, Christ came to the earth for us. He lowered himself to the form of a man so that He could live the perfect life that we never could. Jesus kept God’s Law perfectly, never transgressing with even a single step. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he was betrayed into the hands of evil men, suffered torture and an agonizing death, in order to pay your debt and mine. The punishment he suffered was the punishment we deserved. But as he takes on our sin, we can, through faith, take on His purity. Christ’s blood washes us white as snow, if only we will turn from our sin and trust Him exclusively for salvation and cleansing. Our own good works can never save us, but His perfect life, death, and resurrection will.
Christ Now Lives in Me
This Christmas season, as you enjoy the joy in the air and the wonderful times with family, remember why Christ’s birth is reason to celebrate. Live not for yourself, but for Him—do what He taught and love what He loves. Share Him with others who don’t know the peace and joy found in Christ alone, and follow Him as a disciple-making disciple, day by day by day.