I pray that somehow in our society
there would be nothing that would distract us from
the awesomeness of Christmas.
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. |
