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 But that is more like wishful thinking. Christmas
has become so complex, so chaotic, so confusing with all the stuff,
and the reality of the simplicity of the birth of Jesus Christ has
been so blended into custom and tradition, that the significance has
been lost.
Really, Christmas should be simple, not complicated, but very, very
simple. Christmas should be stripped of all the trappings, and all
that should be left is the simple truth of God becoming man.
Actually this is the only part of the Christmas season that has any
lasting power to change someone’s life. This is because there is no
real strength, no peace, or hope, or love, or promise, or confidence
for the future to be found in Santa Claus.
There is no lasting value in any earthly gift or any earthly
sentiment. The real tree dies, unless it is fake to begin with.
There is no package or party that can sustain life. No bright lights
can lift the spirits of someone who is down, to a higher spiritual
level. There is no power in Santa Claus. There is no power in a
tree. There is no power in lights.
But when you are desperate, you need power, and in the hour of need,
all Christmas has to offer is Jesus Christ. He is totally
sufficient. Only He can fill the heart with hope in a time of doubt.
Only He can fill the heart with lasting joy in times of sadness.
Only He can fill the heart with peace in a time of fear. When life
reaches its moment of desperation, the only hope is Christ.
What is the hope that Jesus Christ gives? How is it that Jesus
Christ gives this joy in deep sadness? What is it about Jesus that
gives comfort in loneliness? What is it about Him that gives peace
in times of fear? A look at His birth gives the answer to all these
questions. In what sense? To save us from the ultimate consequences
of our sins, namely eternal damnation. To save us from even the
present domination of our sins. But primarily, and ultimately, He
came to save us in the sense that He delivers you and delivers me.
He delivers all who believe in Him from the ultimate damnation that
sin requires. And He has done that. He paid the price. He died the
death that we would have had to die, and He carried our sins so far
away that even God will never again consider their existence. What a
blessed reality that Jesus Christ came into the world to forgive
sin.
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Jesus Christ came into the world to forgive sin. It
doesn’t mean that we don’t commit sin. We do. It doesn’t mean that
sin won’t have harmful effects in this life. It does. What it does
mean is we will never pay the ultimate penalty for sin. It has been
paid. We will never die eternally. We will never spend a moment in
hell. We will go from this life into heaven.
No matter what deprivation a person might experience,
no matter how lonely your life might be, no matter how sad it might
be, no matter how painful your situation, no matter how bleak the
Christmas season, no matter what life prison you might find yourself
in, no matter how strong your fears and how scary the prospects for
the future might be, IF you have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, you can see through to the one who has forgiven all your
sins.
And in that, there is fullness of joy. There is no need to fear that
your difficulty is God’s way of making you offer full atonement for
your own iniquity. Not so. No matter what goes wrong in this life,
no matter what is not the way you would like it, no matter how much
unfulfillment you face, you know this. You have complete and perfect
forgiveness for all your sins through Jesus Christ, if you place
your faith in Him, and you will never pay for your sins, because
Jesus has done that.
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