December is here and Christmas with all its joys, busyness and stresses is on its way; shopping, decorating, baking, parties all take up our time; we celebrate with friends, family, gifts, good food; sometimes in the midst of this busy season we forget why or what or whom we are celebrating.
So I would like to take a few minutes to reflect on the whom and why we are celebrating Christmas.
The why of the Christmas story began long before Jesus’ birth; the Bible teaches that soon after sin and evil entered this world God promised that someday, someone, would come who would conquer sin and evil and restore people’s relationship with God; after centuries of waiting this person is Jesus, God's own Son, whom Christians celebrate at Christmas time.
The Bible tells us that shepherds, angels, and wise men all celebrated his birth because they understood that he was the long awaited Messiah. This baby was God Himself - become a man. Jesus came as a baby but grew up to be God’s chosen servant to show people how much God loved this world.
He lived and taught in such a way that we would know the truth about God and about ourselves. He showed us how life can be full and wonderful, if we live God’s way, even in this broken world. And then he died to pay for our disobedience and make our forgiveness possible. The story of Christmas is the story of how God came to give us life and hope and peace. Jesus is the reason for the season! He is the whom people have celebrated for centuries.
So yes, Christmas is a time to celebrate many gifts like family, friends, presents, good food; in the midst of it all let us not forget that Jesus is the best present; a gift from a God who loves us.
This Christmas as we receive a present we will gladly open it up and then say thank you.
How can we receive the gift of Jesus? We can receive this gift by making Jesus part of our lives; we can open God’s present by getting to know Jesus better through reading the Bible and going to church. We can say thank you by talking to God each day in prayer.
On behalf of the Village Church, I would like to wish all of you a very joy-filled, Jesus remembered, Christmas!!
