CHRISTMAS IS...

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”  Ephesians 2:13

By Shirley Wiggins

Christmas is everything bright and beautiful.  Christmas is everything true and hopeful.  Christmas is the message of all good news!

Christmas can be disputed, but it will never be disproved.  Christmas is as real as the Savior Whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day, year in and year out until all times and seasons will come to their completed end.

And when that end comes, the glorious Beginning will become sight for those who’ve trusted in the Creator of Time.  There is a God.  He is real, though He cannot be seen.  He cannot be proven to the satisfaction of people in general; though His Presence is felt and confirmed by those in particular who have had His reality proven to our satisfaction.

Christmas is Christ Himself revealed in Scripture to teach mankind about salvation.

Christmas is the Secret.  Christmas is.  It really is a fact of life; it happened and it can never be undone, or outdone.  Christmas is simple; and simply profound.

Christmas is Salvation, the revealing of the Message  - the Mysterious Message:  the heretofore hidden. 

“This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open.  God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. 

The mystery is this:  Christ is in you, therefore you look forward to sharing in God’s glory.  It’s that simple.  That is the substance of our message.  We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message.  We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity.  To be mature is to be basic.  Christ!  No more, no less.  That’s what *I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.”  See Colossians 1:15-27 The Message Translation.

*These are the words of the apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul until He met Jesus.  (See The Message Bible translation.)

“I,* Paul, am a messenger of this Message.”

Saul, as a young man, was devoutly devoted to his beliefs about God, steadfastly resisting the message** of Jesus Christ and those who had accepted His life, death, and resurrection as Messiah Jesus. 

 “But Saul began to destroy the church.  Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”  … “Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way**, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’   “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.    “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,”  He replied. ‘ Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”  (See Acts 8:3; 9:1-31.) 

Saul was blind and had to be led by the hand into the town where “for three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. “  He was praying however, for Acts 9:11 says that the Lord called to a disciple there in the town of Damascus named Ananias, and said to him: 

“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.  In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hand on him to restore his sight. … Go!  This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” 

“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it.  Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--- has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Immediately something like scales fell from  Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.  He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”  See Acts 9:10-19.

The self-proclaimed Sinner Number One became the one known as the apostle Paul, the one who for the rest of his life proclaimed the Message of Christmas! 

Paul said:  “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, Who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.  The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ….Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners---of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example to those  who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”  (1 Timothy 1:12-16 NIV.)

Christmas is Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Light of truth:

“We look at this Son and see the God Who cannot be seen.  We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created.  For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels –---everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.  He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.  And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end.  From beginning to end He’s there, towering far above everything, everyone.  So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding.  Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down from the Cross.

You yourselves are a case study of what He does.  At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of Him, giving Him trouble every chance you got.  But now, by giving Himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in His presence.  You don’t walk away from a gift like that!  You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted.  There is no other Message—just this One.  Every creature under heaven gets this same Message.  I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.”   Colossians 1:15-23 (The Message – Navpress.)

As Christmas Day is celebrated this year, where are you in this journey called Life?  Where are your beliefs taking you?  With what are you busily occupied  as the year --- another year--- comes to a close? 

Are you on the road, the pathway of peace, to your prepared place in heaven where you will spend eternity with the Christ of Christmas?

Or, do your years lead you farther and farther away from the Truth of Christmas, the true Light that came into the world, full of grace and truth, the Savior sent from God for your rescue from the deeds of darkness and deception?

God in Christ Jesus knows each of us individually and He knows all that we are concerned with and perhaps burdened by this year.  He knows our needs and our wants.  He desires to be in communion with each soul in a personal way.  Let us be aware, alert and available to watch for Him, listen to Him, and share the greatest news of the greatest Gift ever given.

Christmas is reality. Christmas is a Gift you don’t want to walk away from!

Merry Christmas, world!  The Good News is still meant for every one!