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Christmas Truth ::
One of our collection of as-yet unpublished Christmas resources.
This is written by NEIL ATWOOD, first used Christmas 1996, and is based on Luke 2:1-7
Source: Author – unpublished in Perspective
Like no other holiday, Christmas has been smothered almost beyond recognition in all manner of ‘traditions’, habits, lies, myths and legends.
(Easter, on the other hand has remained relatively untouched – if you discount a few rampant chocolate bunnies.)
But Christmas… We seem to want to dress it up in so much extra stuff, that it has become, well, unrecognisable.
Most of us here would acknowledge the reality of that when we think of what goes on… [some myths, songs we sing, activities we engage in, etc]
We Christians have even allowed the Bible’s record of Christmas to become confused – in fact we ourselves have become confused!
Try this quick quiz… QUIZ – on OHP – fill in sheet in front of you – [take some answers… Highlight mistakes…]
Click here for file of OHP questions (make sure you know the answers first!)
It’s a little scary isn’t it, when we realise that we get confused about Christmas? When we are fuzzy about Christmas, how can we expect the world to be anything less? When we have buried the truth about Christmas under layers and layers of extra stuff, how can we expect unbelievers to understand the huge significance of that first Christmas?
Well, even though we Christians may muddy the waters of Christmas, if we pause just briefly, we only need to look at the Bible to see how well planned that first Christmas was.
Those words read to us a little earlier speak of how the whole OT is longing for this baby to be born, longing for God to act in the ultimate rescue operation.
Christmas was a clear fulfilment of the OT prophecies. It was the best planned pregnancy in the world’s history, because indeed, it literally made history!
Those simple words that open Luke 2 tell the powerful story. But a story that is not fiction, but rather what we know as THE pivotal point in human history.
From the very beginning, God was working to bring us back to himself.
From the very beginning , God had it planned out. A plan that would change human history. Change history not from the outside, but from within. Jesus being born isn’t just a nice story, it isn’t just a warm, cutesy reason to celebrate once a year.
It’s God acting in history. In fact it’s HIS-story changing history. Jesus’ coming was like the hinge in human history – our life, death and significance all revolve around that one person’s life, death and resurrection. With Jesus’ arrival in Luke 2:7, the world was never going to be the same again.
For his coming was to pave the way for a whole new deal with God. No longer would death be the greatest enemy, no longer would our sinfulness stand as an impenetrable barrier between us and God.
God stepped into human history as this tiny baby in the feed trough in a stable in Bethlehem – and turned around the course of the human race! Imagine if that hadn’t happened? Imagine life with no chance to put things right with God?
Imagine life without the meaning and hope that eternal life brings? Imagine having to pay the price for our own sin…?
But it goes even further than that: If we really take hold of the significance of the birth of Jesus in human history, it must change our lives.
Yes, we can know forgiveness of sin and security of eternal life – and having confidence in God’s work in our lives means that we need not fear.
Let me explain.
Much of Christmas traditions are based on fear. When we delve into some of the traditions surrounding Christmas, we find much superstition and humbug. Some of the older and more obscure carols are more about folk religion, witchcraft and fending off disease and calamity as they are about the birth of Jesus.
Quaint habits like kissing under the mistletoe stem from a superstitious fear of lack of fertility, and even old Father Christmas has an ugly side to him, engendering fear of missing out on Christmas presents unless we’re ‘good’ boys and girls. So much of our modern Christmas stems from the medieval superstitions stolen from the pagan religions whose festival of Saturnalia (December 25th) we stole back in the 4th century, and those superstitions are based on fear.
But we know different.
Thanks to Jesus and the events that Christmas ushered in, we can shun fear.
We need not fear anything.
We need not fear superstitions – gremlins and goblins.
We need not fear sin and it’s consequences.
We need not fear doubt.
We need not fear death itself.
Because we know the truth about Christmas.
We know that when God entered human history as the perfect God-man, history was changed forever.
And later on, on John’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that: “…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 NIV).
This Christmas, carve away the rubbish, and extra baggage that we carry into the season.
Go home tonight and read Luke 1 and 2 to your children.
Remind them how God became a man and changed the world forever. Remind them how we can know that God-man personally, and how he can take away our fear and our doubts and free us for ever to live with him.
As we do that we will be giving our children the best Christmas that we can.
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