Christmas is not a happy time for everyone for various reasons. Some may not have been raised in families that celebrated Christmas and therefore it is alien to them. Others may have lost a loved one around this period or may be alone at this time. Unfortunately there are some Christians who fall into these categories, but we really need to acknowledge and celebrate Christmas.
In the story of Jesus’ birth, the angel, Gabriel is sent to Mary and prophesies the birth of Christ (Luke 1:26-35). The angel then announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20).
In Luke 1, there is much reason for Mary to rejoice, for the announcement of a Saviour has been made. Mary embraces and obeys the angel’s instruction and says that her heart magnifies the Lord. When we magnify something, we make it seem bigger than it really is so that we can see it better, but this is not the type of magnification that Mary is referring to. For we can not make God any bigger than He already is. Rather, this magnification refers to seeing God bigger than we previously saw Him, because the Holy Spirit brings a clearer understanding to us and we see Him for who He is and are able to share Him with others.
Mary links the birth of Christ with His death and is thankful for both (Luke 1:47). Indeed she states that she rejoices for God, her Saviour. Heaven joins with Mary over Christ’s birth. The angel brings good news of great joy of Jesus’ birth and makes the connection with the birth and death of Christ (Luke 2:10). For he says that he brings tidings of great joy and also speaks of the Christ as Saviour.
In Romans 3, Paul asks whether we are better than the Jews and Greeks and surmises that in fact, there is none who is righteous among us. So when we look at Paul’s picture that paints the human race as being terrible except for the blood of Christ, we see what a great salvation plan God had for us. It was completed when Christ died and rose again to be seated at His Father’s right hand, interceding for us. Hence, Christmas needs to be celebrated for Christ and the true purpose of His birth.
Some of us get excited about the trappings of the Christmas season. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but we need to focus on the primary reason for celebrating Christmas- the redemption of a people through Christ who came to redeem us from the penalty, power and presence of sin. The birth of Christ is all about the salvation of sinners. Indeed Paul said: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
The joy of the Lord is our strength as it stabilizes us. Hence we should be joyful about Christ’s birth, for His coming made this possible. Joy is an “in spite of” characteristic and is not dependent on circumstances. Paul says that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming of Christ (Romans 8:18). He is thus showing us that if we are focused on Christ, whatever hardship comes our way, Christ has brought us salvation. James says that we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials as these work out patience in us (James 1:2-4). Christmas celebrates the birth, death and salvation plan brought from Jesus Christ to Man. So let us be joyful at Christmas for this reason as it means that we will spend eternity with Him. He made the way for us to get to heaven by coming into humanity as a baby.
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