City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

Christmas Day has been a celebrated holiday since 336 A.D. to signify the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and his significance to the world. In the last few decades, there has been a push to remove most of the meaning that Christmas is supposed to bring. Instead of Christmas Break, we get winter break or winter holidays. The Christmas Day itself is being attacked, trying to remove the meaning and importance by saying it’s a pagan holiday that Christianity replaced (and though this may be true, the meaning of Christmas is based on Christianity and the celebration of Jesus’ birth). The calendar system has been changed from B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini – in the year of our Lord) to B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era). Yet, no matter how hard our society tries to remove this special day of celebration, they cannot argue the fact that at the time of Jesus’ birth, the world changed forever.

Let’s take a step back for one minute. Why is this day so important? The Apostle John makes a record of this in his gospel. He says that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1) and continues to say that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. And we (John, the apostles, and many others) have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son (John 1:14). Yes, ever since Genesis 1:3 when God first spoke, we understand that it was through Jesus that He did so.

Out of all the characteristics of God, love cannot exist without at least three persons (A lover, a loved, and a beloved). So God, who is one Being and consists of three persons (The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), knew love from the beginning of time. He did not need us to understand love because He had perfect love within Himself. Yet, out of His selflessness, He wanted us to experience this great love and thus created us. And He did so by giving us free will, the freedom to choose to worship Him or to go our own way. The freedom to accept His gift of salvation as Lord or make ourselves lords in our own image.

But God is not only a gracious God, but a just God. He has to judge sin and the stubbornness to go our own way, and because none of us has ever achieved perfection, only He could bridge the gap. He did so by becoming human and taking on flesh. And this birth, this significant time in history when Jesus, the Son, the Word, entered the world as a little baby, born of a virgin, changed the world forever.

We celebrate this day each year, because ever since the first prophecy from God to Adam and Eve that He would conquer sin (Genesis 3:15), He planned to find us a way back to Himself. He did so to show us who He is through Jesus, and to show us His great love for us all to experience. Could God have died for us without being first born as a baby? Probably so, but it is through his humanity that we can more relate to God and his personal love for us. The author of Hebrews says, Jesus is able to empathize in our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way, just as we are, but did not sin (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15).

Through Jesus the kingdom of God has been established on this earth by those who believe in Him. Not all who call themselves Christians will be saved, but only those who are willing to kneel before Jesus and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. For it is not a birth right, nor is it by race or ethnicity, nor through any material possessions that we become saved, but only by humbling ourselves before God, believing that He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins so we may have eternal life with Him, and accepting this gift of salvation (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10).

So we celebrate this day because it is when God make good on His promise to His people. That salvation would come to both Jews and non-Jews. He came to serve us and not to be served. What an amazing King we follow and what a joyous occasion it is!