In a few weeks,
Christmas will be here again. I love the
Christmas holiday. This wonderful
holiday has been the time of year for celebrating the birth of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s true that the
season is getting more and more commercialized as time goes on. The focus on holiday shopping and spending
seems to become more intense each year.
Yet it seems to
me that, no matter how intense the focus on holiday shopping gets, the goodwill
of Christ permeates the atmosphere.
People start thinking more about those around them who are in special
need of attention, love, time, or other support. There seems to be an increased drive to look
for the lonely person, the sick person, or the financially strapped person in
our neighborhood so we can make sure they get the attention and Christmas
spirit they deserve. People just seem to
care more about other people.
You could argue
that this increased feeling of goodwill and love towards others comes from a
variety of things. But the truth is it
all stems from one source. That source
is the holy love of the Messiah. The
world has celebrated His birth on this holiday for so long that this season
naturally carries Him with it. Because
of this His hallowed hand has touched this holiday and set it apart from the
rest of the year. For this reason His
love permeates the hearts of the children of men at this time of year, and you
just can’t help feeling an increased sense of care and concern for those around
you.
As the Christmas
holiday approaches, I want to turn the focus of my blog to the Christmas story—the
birth of the Holy Child that took place approximately two thousand years ago. This is truly one of the greatest stories in
the history of the world. In my opinion
the only story greater than this is the story of the Atonement made by Jesus
the Christ. And, as you know, these
stories are about the same being—Jehovah the Son of God.
The story of the
birth of the Savior indicates how precious, how pure, and ultimately how
important this precious child would be.
His birth was heralded by angels.
Wise men brought Him precious gifts.
Shepherds would leave their flocks to see the face of the Holy Babe. And yet the Hope of the Ages would come into this
earth in a humble stable without any ceremony.
Make no mistake
about it. Jesus Christ was that child
born in a stable. Though He was meek
enough to come into this world through humble circumstances, He is the Lord and
King of this earth. This little Christ
child would one day conquer death and the grave, allowing all of us to live an
eternal life. He would pay the price of
sin and grant us the hope of eternal glory.
He would save all who would come unto Him from the binding chains of
hell. Because of His love for us, He would
come into this earth and sacrifice all for us.
This is why the
heavens rejoiced when Jesus Christ was born.
This is why we still celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ over two
thousand years later. This is why this
season is so special. And this is why we
sing of that night:
“Silent
night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright.
“Round
yon virgin mother and Child. Holy
Infant, so tender and mild.
“Sleep
in heavenly peace; sleep in heavenly peace.
“Silent
night! Holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight!
“Glories
stream from heaven afar; Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
“Christ,
the Savior, is born! Christ, the Savior,
is born!
“Silent
night! Holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light
“Radiant
beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace,
“Jesus,
Lord, at thy birth; Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.”
I’m so grateful
that Jehovah would come into this world to sacrifice Himself for me. I’m so grateful that He loved us to come and
show us the way we need to live our lives in order to make it back Home. I’m so grateful for that holy night when the
Holy Babe was born in a stable. And I’m
grateful that I have the knowledge of this holy event so that I can celebrate
it at this time.
No comments:
Post a Comment