This Sunday morning, families will gather next to decorated trees, and carefully, or not so carefully, unwrap gifts. For most people, this will be the height of the Christmas celebration, but for those who confess Christ as Lord, the celebration will take on a far more profound aspect.
The centre of Christian Christmas is the celebration of divine incarnation — the arrival of God into the world as a human being. The one through whom the universe came into existence took on vulnerable human flesh — not just the appearance of humanity, but actual human nature.
He would die at the hands of a world that was estranged from God, a world that had chosen death over life, but he came with open arms to forgive and love that same rejecting world, and bring humanity back to God, to give people true life.
Humans killed him, but the power of God’s love raised him up. He is the Living Word who enters human hearts to forgive and transform them.
As the Apostle Paul told the Roman Christians, “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.”(Romans 8:10)
Christian Christmas reminds us of God’s incredible love, which is not an abstract truth, but a concrete reality, and the gift Christ brings is exactly that — a gift freely given.
It is given without condition and is yours for the taking. It does not depend on what you have done or not done, but only on your need for it, so, I encourage you to search your hearts, take some time to hear and read the story of the birth of Jesus as told in Holy Scripture. Find a local church, take in a Christmas service — in-person or online. Embrace the child in the manger, the one who already embraces you with a love more profound than the expanse of the universe.
May God bless you this Christmas for a safe and joyous celebration!
