Rediscover the Bible for Life
“God’s Christmas Card for Troubled Times”
By Dennis Lee
Once again we find ourselves celebrating Christmas in troublous times. We hear the phrase, “Peace on earth, goodwill to men,” yet see very little of it.
We are still fighting the war on terror, which finds our soldiers fighting around the world, and we’re still facing nuclear threats from some pretty unstable regimes.
We are also fighting battles within our own country with rival gangs killing each other as well as innocent bystanders. And then there is the increased violence within our schools.
Violent crimes are also on the increase as well as an overall increase in natural disasters, famine and disease across the globe.
These pictures really don’t make Christmas card photos you’d want to send to your family and friends. These are not the scenes of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, nor is it Bing Crosby’s “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”
But maybe we can get a glimpse through these images of what was going on in the world and in the land of Israel on that very first Christmas. The Roman military ruthlessly controlled the nation of Israel. Acts of terrorism by religious zealots were commonplace with the Romans retaliating with ruthless savagery. And religion was making rules for the people to live with sever punishment if these rules were broken.
The people were weary with fear and the burden of oppression. And it was to this world that Christmas came and of God breaking through into a world filled with turmoil.
And it is this same story of Christmas that God breaks through into our world as well. In this world filled with turmoil and chaos, Jesus can break through and bring the peace promised by the angels into the lives of those who will believe.
God sends to this earth a Christmas card with the same pictures that He has sent every year since that first Christmas. It is a picture designed to bring hope and peace to all who will embrace it. It is the picture of Jesus’ birth.
The unfortunate part of this picture is that people have become a little bit too familiar with it. They’ve seen it year after year on the mantle places in homes, in postcards, in front yards, and on TV commercials hawking all sorts of merchandise.
Because of all this exposure the nativity has lost its true meaning and has faded into the background of the world’s consciousness.
But it is this Christmas card that God is still sending to all humanity saying that in the midst of the horror, chaos, trials, and tribulations, the promised peace and hope is still available for all who put their hope and trust in that baby lying in a manger.
Just as Jesus broke through the confusion and chaos back then, He wants to break through the confusion and chaos and be born anew in each and every life. Where “Unto you, this day, a Savior who is Christ the Lord can be born.”
So, into this troubled world, God sends the same Christmas card with the picture of Jesus’ birth. Will you accept it, open it up and receive the truth of what it represents: a new life.
Merry Christmas
