Why Christmas Matters
A compilation
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We sing it every year in our Christmas carols, especially in “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” when we cry out: “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity.” The Apostles’ Creed doesn’t use it, but it teaches the doctrine of it when we read “conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.”
Incarnation. If you understand the word incarnation, you’ll understand what Christmas is about. Christmas is frankly doctrinal. The invisible has become visible, the incorporeal has become corporeal. In other words, God has become human. …
Here’s why the doctrine of Christmas is unique. On one hand, you’ve got religions that say God is so immanent in all things that incarnation is normal. If you’re a Buddhist or Hindu, God is immanent in everything. On the other hand, religions like Islam and Judaism say God is so transcendent over all things that incarnation is impossible.
But Christianity is unique. It doesn’t say incarnation is normal, but it doesn’t say it’s impossible. It says God is so immanent that it is possible, but He is so transcendent that the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ is a history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event.
Christmas is not just frankly doctrinal; it’s also boldly historical. The manger, the resurrection, the story of Jesus is not just a story. It’s true.
The point of Christmas is that Jesus Christ really lived, and He really died. It happened in history. He did these things. He said these things. … The Gospel is that Jesus Christ came to earth, lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died, so when we believe in Him we live a life of grateful joy for Him. …
First John 1:3 says, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son.” “Fellowship” means that if Jesus Christ has come, if Christmas is true, then we’ve got a basis for a personal relationship with God. …
If Jesus Christ is actually God come in the flesh, you’re going to know much more about God. You’re seeing Him weep. You’re seeing Him upset. You’re seeing Him cast down. You’re seeing Him exalted. If Jesus is who He says He is, we have a 500-page autobiography from God, in a sense. And our understanding will be vastly more personal and specific than any philosophy or religion could give us.
Look at what God has done to get you to know Him personally. If the Son would come all this way to become a real person to you, don’t you think the Holy Spirit will do anything in His power to make Jesus a real person to you in your heart?
Christmas is an invitation to know Christ personally. Christmas is an invitation by God to say: Look what I’ve done to come near to you. Now draw near to me. I don’t want to be a concept; I want to be a friend.—Tim Keller1
Christmas shows us that God uses fallible, imperfect people—and still does
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.—Luke 1:38
A truth I find amazing every year at Christmas is that God uses imperfect people to bring about His perfect will. The Lord chose Mary. He revealed His will to her. He also chose Joseph to be part of the story and reassured him—this is My will…
He chooses this storyline as the means to usher in His redemptive plan. It doesn’t make sense to us, but then again, neither does the plan He uses to establish His church and His Kingdom. He uses us once again.
All of this tells me that as I walk through the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, there is a strong tie at the beginning of the story with the end. The Book of Matthew starts with Jesus’ birth and it ends with the Great Commission. With those two bookends, there is human involvement and we have an active role in the process. I’m wowed by that. Christmas takes on a whole other level of meaning when I consider this: He used humanity to come into this world and He still partners with us today.Praise God!
As I conclude … I am inclined to consider the words of the Christmas hymn, I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day by Henry Longfellow…
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Christmas is important because it points to the Gospel and the promise God has kept. In addition, it shows that we are caught up in and part of His great plan on the Earth. Beyond this, the road for Christ wasn’t just manger to cross. It included the tomb, which was once occupied but now is empty. These lines by Longfellow direct our thoughts to this truth: God is not dead. Truth will win the day. The wrong shall fail and the right will prevail. Amen, hallelujah. As we consider Christmas and why it still matters, may we be brought all the way to the end—that Christ shall reign and we shall be with Him in heaven.
As December rolls along, I hope you will have many opportunities to consider these points and others as you reflect on Christmas. ... Perhaps a prayer you can have is to simply allow God’s truth to awaken you afresh this year at Christmas. To see Him as the conquering, risen Savior, not just the baby lying in a manger. It’s all part of the Gospel story. It’s all true. May we come to fall in love with Him all over again this Christmas season.—Derek Charles Johnson2
The ultimate Christmas gift
The Bible tells us that “God is Spirit” and “God is love” (John 4:24; 1 John 4:8). He is the great Creator who created you and me, this beautiful world, and the entire universe. Then, to show us His love and to help us understand Him better, God sent us His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth in the form of a man.
Although He was predestined to be the King of kings, Jesus was not born in a palace. Instead, He was born on the dirty floor of a barn and laid to sleep in the animals’ feed trough (Luke 2:7). His arrival received no official recognition from the rich and powerful of His day. Instead, He was visited by a few poor shepherds who had heard the news from a band of angels. “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:8–14).
When Jesus began His life’s work at the age of 30, He not only preached His message, but He lived it among the common people, as one of them. He ministered to their spiritual needs, but also spent a great deal of time tending to their physical needs, healing them when they were sick and feeding them when they were hungry. He loved without partiality, even at the cost of His reputation. He befriended drunks, prostitutes, and sinners, the outcasts and downtrodden, and proved that no one was beyond the reach of God’s love and forgiveness.
In Jesus, God shared His love with the whole world. But He also loves each of us individually. God loves you so much that He gave the most cherished thing He had, His only Son, so you could have everlasting life (John 3:16).
God feels our pain. He understands our heartaches and sympathizes with our losses. He longs to draw us close, to soothe, to heal, to comfort, to reassure. He loved us so much that He sent His Son in human form, to live among us, to experience our hardships, to be His hands, to reveal His heart, and to put us in direct, personal contact with His love and power. God didn’t send Jesus to remove all our problems but to equip us to get through them and become better for them.
And that is why we have reason to hope this Christmas.
Jesus wants to enter into a personal relationship with you and become a very real part of your life both here and now and forever in eternity. He stands at your heart’s door, waiting for you to open the door and invite Him into your life. (See Revelation 3:20.)
You can do so by sincerely praying this prayer:
Jesus, please forgive me for all my sins. I believe that You died for me. I open the door to my heart and I invite You into my life. Please fill me with Your love and Holy Spirit, help me get to know You, and guide me in the way of truth. Amen.—The Family International
Published on Anchor December 2024. Read by John Laurence. Music from the Rhythm of Christmas album, used by permission.
