Riff's Christian Journal

It really doesn’t matter when we celebrate Christmas. I say that because Christmas is not about having a holiday, buying gifts or decorating a tree, etc. No, Christmas is about reminding us that God lowered Himself and became one of us.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…..  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”  John 1:1 & 14

Many times in the Old Testament we read about the word of the Lord visiting someone. As an example of this, we read in Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

The Word of the Old Testament became man in the New Testament and we call Him Jesus. In order to be one of us, at our level, He had to born as one of us, but He had to be born sin free. In order for that to happen the One from Whom the seed would come would have to be sin free. God, Himself, is the only sinless being. So, from the Holy Spirit through Mary was God in man implanted and was born without a sin nature.

God, as a man called Jesus, came and dwelt among us and we did not know Him. He came to seek and to save the lost; those whom He would save through His sacrifice of death and separation from the Father, and to give us life through His resurrection from the dead.

He became the sacrifice for sin and, because of that sacrifice, those whom He saves has eternal life through the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life because of what He has done for man. Without the Word of God coming into this world as a man called Jesus, to become sin for us and to give us His righteousness to save us from our sinfulness and from facing the wrath to come, we would have no hope of salvation.

For this reason do we celebrate Christmas. It is a celebration of the forgiveness of sin, the salvation of our souls and the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God.  Unless you have been born again by the Spirit of God, Christmas is not really for you, for you have not, as yet, received the gift of life. Life that only Jesus can give.

Christmas celebrates life, love, and the forgiveness of sins, as God, born of a woman, gave to us through Himself as a man called Jesus. When Jesus was born is not important. Why He was born is. If you celebrate Christmas for any other reason you are not celebrating Christmas at all.

Why Christmas? Because God, through the person and work of the man He became – Jesus – has provided for man what man cannot provide for himself….. salvation from sin and eternal life in Heaven.

The question is… do you have the right to celebrate the day when God, born of a woman,  became man; the day we call Christmas? You can have the gift of God. If you will just repent of your sins, submit to Jesus and call Him Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead… you will have been saved, and you, too, can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.