At this most wonderful season, let’s look at why we celebrate Christmas. For sure, it is more than the birth of a baby.
We know Jesus was born to take our place on the cross, to suffer and die for our sins. But He also was born to become our representative at the Throne of God. He is both our substitute and our representative.
Yet as we prepare for Christmas, we enter into the realm of the mysterious and the miraculous, the mystery of why God became man – and man could become a partaker of God’s divine nature.
I once heard a story that says it all: a little boy looking at a picture of his deceased father said to his mother, “I wish Father would step out of the picture!” His remarks reflect the deepest yearnings of every human heart.
We have seen the glory of God in nature, marveling at sunsets, mountains and oceans as we appreciate their beauty. Yet, while magnificent, it is not fully satisfying. We really want God to step out of His creation, which is impersonal, and meet us as a Person. That which is impersonal cannot lay hold of our hearts because the human heart is personal, and it wants a personal response.
We study spiritual laws and principles to better apprehend the blessings of God, and that’s important. But our heart of hearts is not looking for a principle. It seeks a Person! Only Jesus answers the true cry of every heart.
All mankind wants something much more than a description of God or a picture of Jesus in one’s home. A man wants God Himself. We all want Father to step out of the picture and meet us in person, in the flesh.
Because of the birth of Jesus, you know that the Word has become flesh. This is the meaning of Christmas. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us.” God with us IN PERSON.
Although we cannot see God, Jesus is our personal approach to Him, and God can now be seen from the unseen world. You see, God revealed Himself to us from the picture. He stepped out of the picture frame, as the boy desired. He stepped out of the box mankind had Him in and showed us Himself in the Person of Jesus.
God has made Himself personal to us. He is giving us His personal input in every area of our life, in every situation we invite Him into, and into everything that has to do with our life.
As we understand the character and life of Jesus, we know what God’s character is like. I know what God is like: He is like Christ! God is Christ-like. Everything embodied in God is in Christ in the Person of Jesus. Everything embodied in God reaches us and enters into us in a personal, unique way through the Person of Jesus.
God’s approach to us – and all His dealings with us – are personal. We need to understand this. Our Christianity is faith in a personal God, a personal Savior.
Christmas, when the Word became flesh, must now become flesh in us. We must become examples of the Word made flesh. As God stepped out of the unseen realm, we ask the Lord to help us step out of the picture people have of Christianity. Let them see the true meaning of being a Christian.
We desire to be examples of the Christian Christmas message to all who encounter us. May we be blessings to everyone this Christmas in Jesus’ Name. Amen.