Christmas is a moment to celebrate the most significant historical event in human history. It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
An event so remarkable that even today, the world considers Christ's birth as the reference point to count years before Him, i.e., BC (Before Christ) and after Him, i.e., AD (Anno Domini - In the Year of our Lord [Jesus Christ]). What makes the birth of Jesus so worth remembering? It is helpful to examine our relationship with God to understand the significance of Christ's birth.
It all starts from the beginning. God made the whole universe. Then God made something very peculiar. He created beings in His own image - Humans.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
God gave humans free will and told them to prosper and take command of His creation. However, humans used this free will to turn against God. This is what it means to sin - to disobey God. Sin has crept into every human. The Bible says that there is not one righteous person in the world because all of us have sinned and become sinners. God is holy, sovereign and perfectly moral and just. A just judge cannot let a crime go unpunished, and when we talk about the sovereign authority of justice and morality, which is God, we cannot expect any little less in His judgement for sin and evil. God will not let the guilty go unpunished. The punishment for sin is death and hell.
This is such a hopeless situation. All of us are doomed to eternal punishment. But that's different from where everything ends. God is also unconditionally loving. A soul lost to sin brings terrible sorrow to God. So, God came to our world as a human being (Jesus) and took on the Cross all the punishment that we deserve. He did this because He loves us. Jesus was the perfect human example of how God intended us to be from the beginning. Jesus Christ sacrificed his holy life on the Cross to pay off the debts and penalty of our sins. Three days later, He rose from the dead and defeated death. Through His resurrection, Jesus confirms that he can grant us eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
In summary, Jesus Christ, God's Son, came to earth, was born of a virgin, died on the Cross for our sins, and rose again three days later from the tomb, breaking the power of sin and death. So this is the crux of the matter. One must
Truthfully repent of their sin.
Put their trust in Jesus and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
Such a person is saved from the punishment of sin to live an everlasting life with God in Heaven. It is not because we are holy or good, but because of God's grace we receive this gift of salvation. To such a person, God would also grant a transformed heart that loves to do good, hates to sin and leads to the best life God intended for us to have. This is the essence of the .
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The thing about a gift is one has to accept it. So is it with God's invaluable and priceless gift of salvation and eternal life, which He offers through His grace.
This is what makes Christmas most remarkable. It remembers the day when God came to our world as a human being and prepared us the way to salvation. He chose to live not a luxurious life but a humble one. He went through all of our tribulations and sorrows. Jesus can understand our pain and sorrow better than anyone ever can.
James Irwin, an American Astronaut who walked on the moon, said the following,
"The entire space achievement is put in proper perspective when one realizes that God walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon. I believe that God walked on the earth 2,000 years ago in the person of Jesus Christ."
Merry Christmas
There are a lot of religions in the world. On the surface level, it is striking to see that all faiths (or at least the major ones) are based on moral values. But on closer inspection, all beliefs contradict each other. How can this be? We are supposed to treat each other respectfully, but clashing views cannot be true simultaneously. Then how can a person know which is true or if all of these beliefs are just false altogether? The person must look for evidence that supports the claims or opinions. When this is done, Christianity stands strikingly strong apart from other religions.
explains what makes Christianity unique.
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Jesus Christ claims that He is the only true way to God and salvation. It is upto the person to choose whether to accept or deny Him.
