Stop! Don’t do anything else until you reflect for a moment on the LOVE that came to earth as a baby, in order to die for your sin. Nothing else in life matters but this and what you will do with this knowledge. What will you do about Jesus? Is he merely a baby in a manger or have you made Him the Lord and King of your life? Christmas is merely another day of mayhem if Christ is not the reason for which you celebrate. So if you have not accepted God’s most precious gift, why not do it today?
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39
This is the story of Christmas: God is for us and sent His only Son into the world, “not to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). The story begins with the well-loved drama found in Luke 2:6-20:
So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told! (The Message).
This is the “Once upon a time….” narrative of the birth of Jesus. It begins with the Baby in the manger, but grows tragic as we look thirty-three years later and find Mary watching her first born Son being nailed to the cross to die like a criminal. This story, unlike every other human record, does not end at the grave, but rather truly begins there with the promise that through Jesus’ resurrection, we can live happily ever after because of His death and resurrection. This story never ends for those who accept Christ’s gift of forgiveness and salvation. We who believe will never be separated from the Love of God!
Jesus graciously gave up all things in order to make a way for us to live with Him forever. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” The only thing that will separate us from the love of Christ is our sin and not accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. In His love and justice, He came to earth to give up His life, so that we could be saved. We who have received this free gift of salvation can know for certain that we are “more than conquerors in Christ”. No matter what tragedy life brings us, and there will be heartache and tribulation on this earth, we have the eternal promise that there is no force that is greater than the Love of God and it is this Love that binds us to Jesus for eternity.
Though God has done it all for us, we have a part to play as well. “… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9. The gift is there for the taking. It is the only gift that keeps on giving and the only gift we can take with us when we die.
This Christmas story is not some fairy tale that brings a sense of nostalgia, but rather an autobiography that brings salvation to the whole world. Don’t let another season go by without accepting this gift and sharing it with others.
Have yourself a very merry Christmas, knowing that nothing can separate you from the Love of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!