What Exactly Is Christmas?
Posted: Saturday, December 24, 2005
by Lorrie Davids
Wow. That sounds like a trick question. Of course, Christmas is the day that all the children of the world find toys under their Christmas tree if they have been good all year. Oh, puh-leeze. Good all year? None of us can be good all year. OK, well, they will find toys under their tree if they have been pretty good part of the year. Okay. That sounds a little better.
Hmmmm. Thinking a little harder, isn't Christmas the holiday which we wish "Peace on earth, good will to mankind"? We try to be a little nicer, even to the old aunt that pinched our cheeks and always gave us clothes as gifts when we were little. Every one is said to be full of Christmas cheer and to show it, we buy gifts even for people we hardly know. After all it is the season of giving. Which brings me to the best gift ever given.
It seems that we are trying so hard to get everything else in at Christmastime that we are forgetting the reason for the season. (Forgive the cliche.) It has been great watching all the Christmas movies and specials on television, but not many have mentioned why we have Christmas.
This is it in a nutshell. The birth of Jesus is why Christmas is celebrated. Some say Jesus is nothing more than a great historical character. Great enough that our way of recording time changed as time is marked by BC and AD. That seems like an extreme thing for a historical figure.
Others believe Jesus to be a great Prophet. Interesting, but I have to ask this...does a prophet lie? If not, then his status was just elevated.
Others believe him to be God. I am in that group. Approximately 2000 years ago a baby was born that fulfilled prophesies regarding a Messiah that would ultimately bring the much desired peace and goodwill. His mom was a virgin, and he was pure and perfect. His name was Jesus. He was God. He was the Son of God. He had the power to forgive sins and heal sickness, emotional and physical. I don't understand it, but I believe it. If you want to know the whole story, find a Bible, even online and read Luke chapter two. But don't stop there because that is not the end of the story. If you keep reading you will learn that he gave up his life willingly because it was what he did. It was part of why he came to earth, to show us how to live and even how to die. But more than that, when he died the sins of everyone were put onto him. The story continues that on the third day he came back to life and was seen by many. He now is alive seated at the right hand of God. He loves each one of us no matter who we are or what we have done. To some that sounds about as realistic as being good all year. If you have never heard this about Jesus before, find a Bible and see what it says for yourself. What have you got to lose?
Merry Christmas!
It seems that we are trying so hard to get everything else in at Christmastime that we are forgetting the reason for the season. (Forgive the cliche.) It has been great watching all the Christmas movies and specials on television, but not many have mentioned why we have Christmas.
This is it in a nutshell. The birth of Jesus is why Christmas is celebrated. Some say Jesus is nothing more than a great historical character. Great enough that our way of recording time changed as time is marked by BC and AD. That seems like an extreme thing for a historical figure.
Others believe Jesus to be a great Prophet. Interesting, but I have to ask this...does a prophet lie? If not, then his status was just elevated.
Others believe him to be God. I am in that group. Approximately 2000 years ago a baby was born that fulfilled prophesies regarding a Messiah that would ultimately bring the much desired peace and goodwill. His mom was a virgin, and he was pure and perfect. His name was Jesus. He was God. He was the Son of God. He had the power to forgive sins and heal sickness, emotional and physical. I don't understand it, but I believe it. If you want to know the whole story, find a Bible, even online and read Luke chapter two. But don't stop there because that is not the end of the story. If you keep reading you will learn that he gave up his life willingly because it was what he did. It was part of why he came to earth, to show us how to live and even how to die. But more than that, when he died the sins of everyone were put onto him. The story continues that on the third day he came back to life and was seen by many. He now is alive seated at the right hand of God. He loves each one of us no matter who we are or what we have done. To some that sounds about as realistic as being good all year. If you have never heard this about Jesus before, find a Bible and see what it says for yourself. What have you got to lose?
Merry Christmas!
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)this article was very very helpful thanks:)I'm glad it was useful to you. Thanks for reading and commenting.
What's really exciting is when you realize that Jesus' beginning didn't just start with his birth in Bethlehem. The Old Testament is full of encounters with the one that was known as The Angel Of God. Many believe this to be the pre-incarnate Jesus. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 talks about the Israelites being led through the wilderness. In verse 4 he says, "and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that travelled with them, and that rock was Christ." He may not have been known by the name 'Jesus' in the Old Testament, but he was there. He has always existed and the Bible says that all things were created by him. He left his glory for 33 years when he became human so he could die as a perfect and final sacrifice for our sins. Jesus says in Revelations 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." When we see Jesus in the light of eternity, the story is more complete.David, you are correct. Thanks for adding your information. I appreciate your time spent reading and commenting.
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