God Gives the True Meaning of Christmas

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luk 2:10-11  

 

Is it the Fame of Jesus or the Holiday that Attracts?

It is that line which has rang down the annals of time. It is that story which is etched in the minds of children like a picture on granite. It is the flurry of activities which beckons it, the rites of passages, the long holidays, the foods, the visitors and the gifts. December always smells different.

There is no doubt it has been a very tough and dark year indeed. But still one can’t escape the sheer magic which the month invites. December is still a time to get spoilt.

Was it a Silent or Loud Night?

One might doubt it was really a silent night, as there was quite a big stir in the air as people thronged the small town of Bethlehem that night for the census.

And yet what a great awakening was taking place right under the noses of that throng that night, and what a sweet cry of a child sounded that night, and what joy, and what sorrow all muted into one great message which has ever sounded on this earth!

But why didn’t God announce it with trumpets? Why didn’t he stop every man and woman and child on the streets to announce to them the good news? Why didn’t everybody hear the angels singing?

Probably that is how God meant it. Probably he didn’t want to intrude. So only a few people that night were quite aware of what had transpired, a few shepherds, a few wise men and the angels.

But how many people, even today, would really care what the Jesus story means? Some things float to the surface even without beckoning. But it was different with the coming of our Saviour. That is because a meeting with Jesus himself is always the most precious thing in the whole world.

The Queen of Sheba

There is precedence in the bible about such a thing – the queen of Sheba. She was great, she was a queen… then this fame of a king Solomon in Israel happened… and the thought and the fame disturbed her… was this thing really true? (1Kings 10:1-13).

Probably God meant the Jesus story to disturb us like that… ‘and they were sore afraid.’  And that no man should be content with the obvious… like if there is a star one should follow it like the shepherds did… or if one has heard of the fame thereof one should follow and find if it is true.

And this is what the queen of Sheba did. She went to Jerusalem to see Solomon for herself, and she saw, and she believed.

What have you heard about Jesus or his birth in all these years? Fortunately today no one needs to travel all the way to Jerusalem to meet him. For today Jesus is right here in your bible if you desire to meet him, do you?

The Nature of Precious Things

Precious metals are dug deep in the earth. Rarely does one come across gold on the pathway. So is Jesus like that, and he is simply the most precious ‘metal’ one can come across in this life: ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field’ (Mat 13:44). 

We meet many faces in the streets without any thinking. But then one day a face pops up and suddenly there is that strange disturbance… who is he or who is that girl?

I think that’s what God meant by the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem that night. He is not a face you will meet every day in the streets, yes you might, but immediately you will experience that strange disturbance…

Yes he might have announced it with trumpets and in the ears of everyone present that night… but how many would have remembered it afterwards? And how many would have cursed him for disturbing them like that?

It is true everyday strange things happen in town. But how many people actually notice them?

Pray God to Surprise you this Christmas with the ‘Actual’ meeting with Jesus

The queen of Sheba wanted to know more. God granted her wish and she wasn’t disappointed. God will grant your wish too concerning Christ if you ask him. I think that’s what the ‘Silent night’ really means. There is still a deafening meaning about it if you listen to it carefully. And I think it is that silence which God still wants for each person to penetrate it by themselves without any coercion. And what a penetration that is when one has finally come ‘face to face’ with Jesus himself!

I think God meant it to be such a discovery, an agonizing but sweet and unforgettable thing! Pray to him to give you one this Christmas. It will be the greatest thing you’ve ever experienced in your life.

You can ask anyone’s testimony about it or read the queen of Sheba’s. But even more desirable would be if God gives you your own testimony. He is faithful and he will do it if you ask him, as it is written ‘and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.’

‘And all went to be taxed’

Aren’t there many people still waiting to be counted and entered in ‘The book of the generation of Jesus Christ’ in this country? Aren’t there people still emerging from broken lives or broken health? It is God who gives the best testimony about himself. Ask him for yours this Christmas. ‘Let us now go even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass…’

Merry Christmas dear friends!

This blog now takes a break due to the upcoming holidays… God willing I shall be back again on this space in early February 2021 or thereabout. I give all the glory to God for according me this privilege and forum to make his name known. God bless you all!