What is Christmas? I’d really like to hear from you!

Presents – Gifts – Food – Candies – Carols – Christmas Trees - Decorations – Christmas Lights – Christmas Light competitions with your neighbors – Family – Family Drama - Parties – Movies – Traditions – Stockings - Shopping – Shipping – Egg Nog – Snowmen – Santa Clause – Rudolph and Ralphie!!!

What is Christmas? All of these things really and they’re all good things! But what is Christmas really? Take away all the noise, and the answer is heard clearly. Christmas is all about Christ! Without Christ you just have ‘mas!’ Ha! Mas food, mas lights, mas movies, mas shopping, mas family drama…HA! Cut through the noise and the truth is, Christmas without Christ is lost…

It’s easy to get things a little twisted on what this day is all about. I heard of a kiddo who was singing a Christmas carol after opening her gifts and she was singing Silent Night and when she got to the end, she said, “Sleep in heavenly beans, sleep in heavenly beans!” Well her brother heard her from across the room and quickly offered his correction. “HA! You’re so silly,” he said. “Its sleep in heavenly PEAS!” See man all of us can get it so twisted…HA…but this is what Christmas is all about…

The coming of Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior of the whole world! The Greatest gift ever given to men. And I love this…Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ was announced clearly a full 700 years before His birth! 700 years before the first Christmas! Isaiah Chapter 7 verse 14 says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” And Isaiah Chapter 9 verse 6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!” Then…700 years later…

(5 will statements) Luke Chapter 1 Verses 26 – 33. Jesus – “God the Savior,” Immanuel – “God with us.” “He will be great,” (Luke) > “His name will be called Wonderful,” (Isaiah). “He will be called the Son of the Highest,” (Luke) > “Unto us a Son is given,” (Isaiah). “The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,” (Luke) > “The government will be upon His shoulder,” (Isaiah). “And He will reign,” Luke says > while Isaiah calls Him a Prince…the Prince of peace… “And His kingdom, no end.” (Luke) > Isaiah “Mighty God, everlasting Father…”

Jesus, born in a meager manger, born the Savior of the world…the fulfillment of God’s plan, the Qualifier of all men to have eternal life, communion with the Father restored, and in that, the only One specifically qualified to fully represent all of mankind.

You see the natural man, the man without faith, claims Adam as their representative…they must, all men come from him…but Jesus is the only One qualified to represent us fully to God. Adam was created a grown man…unlike any of us…in the cool of the dawn of the day of creation, God spoke and Adam was. But Jesus, born into this world just as we are…a helpless baby…grew just as we grow…Jesus alone is the fulfillment of the life of every man…the fulfillment of God’s heart!

And today we celebrate that. We celebrate His birth and we do so with a heart of gratitude…that there is a way, mankind has a qualified Representative…He didn’t appear and place Himself above or even equal, He made Himself tiny…a big God, making Himself as small as possible…so that He might know us completely, represent us completely, qualify us completely, and anyone who would come to Him, completely…is made completely right with a completely holy God…nothing more needed…the grace GIFT just lavished upon you, because of the coming of the King and the price paid for sin upon the cross…with the receipt and seal of eternal life guarantee when He raised Himself from the dead…This is Christmas!