Yuletide Message

Sitting together the other night in our living room we were in the mood to watch a movie thinking there must be some good old Christmas movie on.  There were some really odd options that night.  One thing which caught my attention was that a lot of the newer movies descriptions focused on human, rather than God’s love (which is central to the Christmas story) !    But if unregenerate people are making these movies what can we expect, right?

Still, its sad that though we have easy access to the Bible and our country has a rich spiritul heritage that many are missing out on the true meaning of Christmas altogether.  Remember Charlie Brown lamenting “Doesn’t anyone know what Christmas is really all about!” ?     Then Linus launched into his lengthy quote of Scripture from Luke 2. As an unsaved boy I recall watching that show around Christmas time and thinking, that’s nice and pretty cool that that little kid can recite all that from the Bible but it didn’t really click with me yet.

If you have kids, do they get it from your life?  How about others who know you?  Listen to part of what Linus quoted: “and the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (vss.10-11). This is the true message of Christmas !      So do others typically see its message in your life?  How about the “fear not” part?  Are you constantly worrying and fretting about this or that, or trusting God?     Are you really content and joyous usually or evidencing “bad tidings” to “all people”?   “For unto you”  means God loves us enough to send His Son leaving heaven’s grandeur for a marred earth to salvage and even more marred humanity.  Do people really see us as lovers of souls?  Praying for the lost, reaching out to humanity rather than cursing them, embittered by them, gossiping about them and writing them off because they are sinful? This “Christmas” love is agape love – it doesn’t extend love only when loved back but finds its love in the source of all love, God Himself for “God is love” (1Jn.4:8,16) and reaches out because the need is so great and the love so good and godly !  Does your life pretty much live up to a converted life that reveals a “Savior”?   Sure, we fall short at times but does our life preach the Christmas message by and large?  When it truly does, people see Christmas in us all year round !   Yes it really isnt about the presents, but the presence of God in us, Emmanuel “God with us” !!!

Our nation is destined to fall prey to a more diluted, commercialized & trivialized view of Christmas unless we step up to the plate and show them different and when we do His message will be heard loud and clear through YOU. So today and throughout this season, go tell that message by your life and your lips !!