The One Thing Humanity Needs to Know This Christmas

Cancel Christmas? Hardly!

A recent headline read, “How to Keep the Supply Chain from Ruining Your Christmas!” So, I suppose their point is that instead of singing “Tis the Season to Be Jolly,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and “Frosty the Snowman,” we’ll all be wringing our hands and watching Frosty turn into a slushy puddle of muddy water. 

Well, here we are, right on the cusp of Christmas. I’m sure there are millions of American parents explaining to their kids why Santa didn’t bring their favorite toy. The way I figure it, empty shelves are one of the first manifestations of your economy shifting to communism. I don’t like it, and I’ve enjoyed living in the most prosperous country in the history of the world. But if it all falls apart tomorrow, nothing will stop me from celebrating Christmas by taking advantage of every opportunity to reflect on what Jesus has done for me; nor will I ever miss an opportunity to tell the story of Jesus to my fellow man.

That’s what Christmas is to me — an opportunity to reflect on the one who came to save me from my sins. That story that didn’t begin in the manger but actually began before the creation of the world (1 Peter 1:19-20). It’s a phenomenal story that God would descend to earth and become like what he created — he would become a human being.  Astonishingly, he came to be a servant of the very creatures he created — humankind. 

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant (and he knew that he had not been to bed with her), the angel of God told Joseph (Matthew 1:20-23):

…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Matthew also writes that his coming was a fulfillment of a centuries-old prophesy:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

You may be wondering why this is so significant. But think about it. All other religions demand that mankind claw its way up to God by doing good deeds and performing religious rituals. But in the case of Jesus, God comes down to man. In the minds of people who want to be able to earn the right to be in God’s presence, this is a scandal — that in Jesus, God becomes one of us. He took on the same flesh as you and me. And the Bible tells us that he was tempted in every way that we are, “yet he did not sin.”

In Jesus, God dies in the flesh to pay off our debt — the one we owed for shaking our fists in his face and telling him that we would not obey him. The innocent would die in place of the guilty — that’s why he came — to save his people from their sins. This is the real scandal, the real reason the Gospel is so offensive to so many. It’s no compliment to us that we are so guilty that our only hope is for God to die in our place.

So, when you tell me that Christmas won’t happen, I’ll shake my head. I think it’s a fantastic time to tell people about the Christ who first appeared on the scene as a newborn baby, only to be abused when his ministry and purpose were revealed to mankind (John 6:52-57). And what a great time to tell others that Satan didn’t win when he temporarily “destroyed” Christ in the flesh because it was for this purpose he came — to serve and give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). If there’s one thing I need to know, along with the rest of humankind, it’s that I won’t find what I’m looking for by consuming the things of this world — not at Christmas or at any other time. I can only find it by consuming the crucified and risen Lord Jesus who first appeared on the scene as a vulnerable newborn. 

Cancel Christmas? Hardly! I will continue to proclaim in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. I’m going to shout it from the rooftops — Jesus is on his throne — HE is king:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing.

Merry Christmas, America! Immanuel — God is with us!