What is Christmas all About?
The conversation is being held and the question asked, "What is Christmas all about?"
Well, it's a great time for friends and family to gather, eat wonderful food, exchange gifts and decorate gorgeous trees. It's the perfect time of the year for a break from routines. Schools get out, businesses close for the day giving people a time to take a little vacation. And Santa! What a fun guy, big red suit, flying reindeer, magically coming down chimneys with gifts. Or maybe you hear, "It's all about Jesus being born as a precious baby in a stable to a young girl."
Actually, it's all about our sinful nature and our need for a savior, but who wants to focus on that. Have you ever heard anyone say, "Christmas! The miracle of God coming to earth in the form of a baby to be a sacrifice for our sins."
A beloved friend explained she was heading out of town to be with her young, single, son who had just received a diagnosis of a tumor in his bladder and spot on his lung. She said, "It's all good, Boo, because he's so scared that now my prodigal wants to know all about Jesus. That's all that really matters. I told him the first thing he needs is a repentant heart and then to keep looking up." Every time I think about this conversation with this strong mother of faith, tears drip down my cheeks. She's absolutely right.
Listen to what God tells us in Isaiah 59:1-2, 9-16
The Lord hasn’t lost his powerful strength; he can still hear and answer prayers.Your sins are the roadblock between you and your God. That’s why he doesn’t answer your prayers or let you see his face.
No one has come to defend us or to bring about justice. We hoped for a day of sunshine, but all we found was a dark, gloomy night. We feel our way along, as if we were blind; we stumble at noon, as if it were night. We can see no better than someone dead, and mourn like doves. We hope for justice and victory, but they escape us. How often have we sinned and turned against you, the Lord God? Our sins condemn us! We have done wrong. We have rebelled and refused to follow you.
Our hearts were deceitful, and so we lied; we planned to abuse others and turn our backs on you. justice seems far away. Truth is chased out of court; honesty is shoved aside. Everyone tells lies; those who turn from crime end up ruined. The Lord Will Rescue His People that justice had disappeared, he became very displeased. It disgusted him even more to learn that no one would do a thing about it. So with his own powerful arm, he won victories for truth.
Christmas is about the only gift that can change the condition of our hearts and where we spend eternity.
The Song Noel by Lauren Daigle
