As Christmas Day fast approaches, it always helps me to slow down this time of year and think though what my beliefs and convictions are about my faith in Christ, Christianity, and Christmas. As I have reflected on my faith this year (2015), two convicting implications stood out to me.
First, the Christmas story shows the depraved state of humanity. Why would God send His son to earth? So we can celebrate his birthday every December 25th with our holiday traditions and presents? As holly and jolly as this season is, the Christmas story communicates the grim reality that mankind is hopeless by themselves. Jesus needed to come to earth so that we could have a way to be in right relationship with God. Simply being good doesn’t make people right with God. We aren’t good enough on our own. If we were, God wouldn’t have bothered sending Jesus, and Jesus would not have willingly left the glories of heaven to lie in a stinky feeding trough. Ephesians 2:12 says that those who don’t embrace Jesus as Savior are “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Jesus came because people are hopeless without him.
This first conviction naturally leads into a second: Jesus is the only way to be in right relationship with God. The world is filled with many religions which claim to be legitimate ways to get to heaven or be right with God. Many people believe that any religion can bring people to God and don’t consider any one religion better than another. But the Christmas story flies in the face of relativism. Jesus came to earth not just to provide humanity another path to God amidst a myriad of other ways, but to provide humanity the only path to God. Jesus himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Clearly, Jesus did not have the mentality that other options existed for humanity to be in right relationship with God. Jesus considered himself the only way to God; he would not have come on Christmas day if that were not the case.
Just to wrap up, I think a good reminder from the Christmas story is that we are hopeless without Jesus. He came because we desperately need him, even if we don’t think so. I hope these thoughts are encouraging and challenging to you this Christmas season.
Enjoy your Christmas, and remember your need for Jesus.
Have a very merry Christmas from our family!
Pastor Glenn and Ann, Jonathan, and Andrew Leatherman