Each Christmas season I am increasingly concerned over the fact that our culture is forgetting or ignoring what Christmas is all about. In this nation that was founded by Christians and that has always been a place where Christianity has flourished, Christmas has become X-Mas, a holiday without the Christ. American children hear more about Santa Claus and the latest toys at Walmart than they do about the One whose birth is the reason for the season. We all need to be reminded that if it were not for Jesus Christ there would be no Christmas!This Christmas I hope that more people will hear the message of Christmas and the Cross. You may be asking what Christmas has to do with the Cross. Simply put, it has everything to do with it. There had to be an incarnation before there could be a crucifixion. Jesus had to be born before He could die for us. He had to become human before He could take our place. His birth was the beginning of a journey that would lead Him to the Cross. That is what we hear from the Bible in places like Hebrews 2, where God's Word says, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15, NKJV). The New Living Translation expounds upon these verses saying, "Because God's children are human beings-- made of flesh and blood-- the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying."
A human birth was required for Jesus to be able to die on the Cross to save us. The Bible explains why, saying that "...when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7, NKJV). The Son of God became one of us so that we could become one of His! Without Jesus we are nothing more than slaves to sin, but with Jesus we are set free and adopted into God's family! Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36, NKJV). It's sin that enslaves us, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NKJV), and it's sin that kills us, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a, NKJV), but "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NKJV)! The Bible also explains that God "...made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).
Jesus was sent into the world to take our place and our punishment, as the Bible teaches, saying, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10, NKJV). That word "propitiation" means "the satisfying price," and in this case refers to the price that Jesus paid for our sins, which was death. Jesus wasn't forced to pay that price; He was willing to take on the mission. The Bible says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:5-8, NKJV). He was willing to do whatever it took to save you and me, no matter how it changed Him and no matter what it cost Him! It required becoming human at Christmas and it required dying at the Cross, but Jesus did it for you and me! That's why Christmas and the Cross are inseparably linked, so that we might never forget what Christmas is truly all about.
So how do we put the Christ back in Christmas? Well, the Apostle Paul gave us a good example to follow, saying, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15, NKJV)! The greatest form of thanks that you can give is to simply believe in the Christ of Christmas and the Cross! Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, NKJV). That's why the Bible later explains, saying, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, NKJV). That's the greatest Christmas gift of all, but if you choose not to believe, you will never receive it! Friend, please believe in the Christ of Christmas and the Cross. No Christmas could be merrier than the one with Christ in it!
May you and yours have a very merry Christmas this year!
