THE  CHRIST  OF  CHRISTMAS

The Christmas season is a joyous time for many, many people, but to others it stirs up feelings of sad memories, loneliness, and despair.  Yet Christ, the reason for the season, longs that we would acknowledge Him as One sent from God to bring us into oneness and wholeness with our Heavenly Father.

At the end of His short earthly life, Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified on a crude, wooden cross, and He did it for the whole human race – for you and for me.  Hebrews 10:14 says, “It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people” (The Message).

Yes, that’s right.  The human race is full of imperfections – envy, pride, dishonesty, immorality, etc. but One who was perfect, Jesus Christ, having committed no sin, offered His life in return for forgiveness for our imperfections and salvation for our souls.  So what are the ‘conditions’ placed upon us so that we can receive His forgiveness and salvation? 

1.  “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved (and that includes forgiveness). For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. The scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed’" (Romans 10:9-11, Good News Bible).

2.  We must forgive other people for the things they have committed against us . . “We can’t get forgiveness from God without first forgiving others” (Matthew 6:14).

When we have done these things, then it is our responsibility to maintain a relationship with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that His great sacrifice remains relevant in our lives; we abide by the ‘conditions’ of the contract, just as we would in an earthly transaction that we enter into.

Of course Jesus knows that not every human being will believe in Him and accept the ‘conditions’ of His great sacrifice, but to those who do, the rewards far outweigh any persecution, hardship or laying down of earthly pleasures that may be entailed with serving our wonderful Saviour. 

Will Jesus the Christ be in your Christmas this year or will you continue to head on blindly in your own self-centred way, ignoring His sacrifice on the cross?  Perhaps you falsely believe that if you don’t believe in Jesus, the Son of God, then you won’t have to face any judgment at the end of your life.  Wrong!!  This is what the eternal Word of God (the Holy Bible) says, “Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God” (Hebrews 9:27, GNB).

Jesus, the One whose birth we celebrate at this time of year, waits, with His arms open wide, to receive all who will come to Him.

Christmas is more than gifts, Christmas trees and good food.  It is firstly about a baby who was born into this world for the sole purpose of dying a cruel death on a crude cross.  Why?  Because “God so loved the world (people) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”  (John 3:16).

Put Christ in your Christmas and know the joy of being loved, saved and forgiven!

~ Joan Emery