Rediscover the Bible for Life
“Getting The Most Out of Christmas”
On Christmas, it seems that most of the world shuts down. In America most everything closes down. Traffic will virtually come to a stop with the exception of people going to church, and/or family gatherings.
What could cause this phenomenon? What’s the big deal about Christmas anyway? How could an event that happened over 2,000 years ago have such an impact?
To find the answer, we have to go to the Bible and see what happened on that very first Christmas, and it all began with heaven opening up on a bunch of Jewish shepherds, and some very good news being proclaimed.
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10-11)
From the angels instructions we learn how we can get the most out of Christmas.
It begins by making Christmas a time of celebration. The angel said this was “Good tidings of great joy.” Christmas is a time to celebrate. We need to celebrate the greatest gift of them all given by our Heavenly Father, which was His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And the reason we celebrate this gift is because whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, John 3:16.
We celebrate the fact that God came to this earth and was born as a baby, that God “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
We are to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the good news of great joy, that upon this day the Savior was born, who is Christ Jesus our Lord.
The second way to get the most out of Christmas is to make it a time of salvation. The angels said that on this day the Savior was born.
If the human race’s greatest need was that of information, or a better form of government, then God would have sent an Educator or a Politician. But humanity’s greatest need is salvation and to come into a right relationship with God. So God sent His Son to be our Savior.
The Apostle Paul calls this salvation a free gift, Ephesians 2:8-9. But what good is a gift if it goes unopened. To benefit from this gift we need to open it, which only happens when we comes to belief in Jesus Christ and what He did for us upon the cross, as He became the sacrifice for our sins, making Him both our Savior and our Lord.
And finally, to get the most out of Christmas, make it a time to get right with others and with God. The angel declared that it would be a time of great peace. Christmas is that perfect time of year to restore broken and strained relationships. There is just an overall spirit of peace that pervades this time of year, so we need to take advantage of it.
If you did something wrong, ask forgiveness of those that you wronged. And if someone has wronged you, then extend them the same forgiveness God has extended to you.
