Please, Think About Christmas for a Minute

Christmas is less than two weeks away. December is always a hectic month for us. Life is busy enough, but December adds school and church programs (and the practices associated with each), work parties, family gatherings, church suppers, and gift shopping, among other things. The weather does not cooperate either; it is usually drab and cold, so the “I do not want to leave the house” feeling is constantly present. I am not complaining; I am just stating facts. It is this way with nearly everyone.

Please do something in the middle of all this. You will not need to cut anything out of your schedule. You can do this between when your head hits the pillow, and you fall asleep tonight.

Please think about Christmas.

“Good grief, Preacher! It is December. Everything we do evolves around Christmas. What’s there to think about?” are probably your thoughts. I am not talking about all the activities added to your schedule, the gifts you need to buy, or the decorations you must find time to put up. I am talking about Christmas. Please consider the following.

A virgin shall conceive and give birth. Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

A virgin? Yes, a virgin. This fact alone makes the birth of Jesus a miracle. Have you ever sat down and thought about the significance of this? Throughout history, people have risen above the multitudes to have their names carved in stone, never forgotten by the masses. All of them had a biological father – except Jesus. Jesus is the only one in human history not to have a biological father. How can this be? How can this claim be true? Notice the last phrase of Isaiah 7:14 above, “…and shall call his name Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

A virgin can conceive because “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:20, see also Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ is God. John 1:1,14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made 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.”

He is Immanuel – God with us.

Does the fact that God lived on this earth in physical form have any impact on your life? Have you considered it at all? Every year, we participate in a holiday celebrating the virgin birth. Yet, our minds are on our busy schedules, the gifts we need to purchase, and the rest of the holiday hustle and bustle.

Now ask yourself this question – Why? Why did God need to come here? As noted before, many people have left an everlasting mark on history. Generals, political leaders, scientists, inventors, writers, painters, musicians, and ordinary people who find themselves thrust into extraordinary circumstances have all filled the pages of history books. Could not one or more people rise to teach us what Jesus taught and influenced history the way He did? Maybe, probably, but Jesus did not come here for the primary purpose of teaching us all suitable lessons for life.

Jesus came to save us.

While Joseph contemplated what to do while Mary was expecting a child that was not his, an angel came to him. The angel said, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

The story of Christmas is simple – God came to this earth to be the blood sacrifice to die for the sins of humanity.

“No preacher, that’s Good Friday.”

True, that is what Jesus did on the cross, but without Christmas, His dying on the cross for our sins is impossible. If there is no virgin birth, then Jesus has an earthly biological father. If He has a biological father, He is not God. If He is not God, then His blood is tainted by sin (because every human is a sinner), and therefore is incapable of paying the price for our sins (Hebrews 9:22).

Whether you are religious or not, more than likely, you participate in some Christmas celebration every year and have since you were a child. But how often have you contemplated Christmas and its meaning? I am not talking about the Christmas movie meanings – I am talking about what Christmas is all about – the virgin giving birth, God coming to earth as a newborn baby, the Lamb of God, and the salvation of the world.

Do you know more about Santa than Jesus? Do your children know more about Santa than Jesus? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, maybe it is time to think about Christmas for a minute.