What are we celebrating?
I asked one of my friends at
Why does “The Passion” seem a sensible choice for Christmas celebration? Is that even celebrating anymore? Does it fit the true meaning of Christmas? To my surprise, I’ve been on a little journey to realize that there could hardly be a more fitting story to watch on video this Christmas.
So often we get the mindset that we are going to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we stop there…We should also be celebrating the reason He came not just the fact that He did! Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s purpose for sending His Son. To celebrate in this way is to see Christmas through God’s eyes.
Why did God send His Son?
To understand the true meaning of Christmas, we need to see Jesus’ purpose for coming. Ultimately, Jesus came to go to the cross. He came to die. The angel spoke to Joseph saying, “[Mary] will give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins” (Mt.
My mind wanders further. What is the heart of God behind sending His Son? We all know that Jesus’ death has saved us from our sins and given us eternal life. But do we know why Jesus wanted to give that to us?
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends…” (Jn. 15:13-14). In other words, Jesus is saying, “I died on the cross because I love you.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son…” (Jn. 3:16). Jesus came to earth, a little baby boy, to die on the cross for my sins, because he loves me! And what’s more, He came to have a relationship with me! In Jesus’ high priestly prayer he prays, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am…” (Jn.17:24). This is why Jesus died on the cross! He wants you. He wants to bless you and give His depthless gifts of love, mercy, grace, peace, joy, and hope to you in a personal, intimate, dynamic, vibrant, and wonder-full relationship with Him! Jesus came simply to love, serve and give to us.
What does this mean for Christmas 2006?
As I said near the beginning, we need to seek God’s perspective of Christmas to understand the true meaning of the celebration. This year as we celebrate, we should be celebrating the full Gospel message and good news. Christmas is more than just a commemoration of the birth of someone we love. It should also be a time to respond to God’s heart for us. Ponder the cradle and the cross. Seek to discover the way that Jesus feels about you in light of the Christmas story and the crucifixion. How can we respond to His heart this Christmas? How can we worship Him and celebrate Him for what He has done for us? How can we understand Jesus better through our Christmas celebration?
As you (the reader) reflect on some of these questions, post some of your answers in a comment. What will you do, in light of Jesus’ heart for you, this Christmas?
4 comments:
I really like the idea of spending time meditating on the cross and Jesus' death. Jesus' birth points so strongly to His death. By looking at both together, I think we might gain a greater understanding of Jesus' heart for us. Some ideas I have include watching "Passion of the Christ" and reading John 13-20, which is the passion week.
When you asked what movie you'd watch with your family if you could the first that came to my mind was Passion of the Christ. It's to easy to forget what this season is about. For me to live this season with Gods view in mind is to give myself up. I often get selfish this time of year. Even when giving presents it's "I hope mine's the best." To act in true humility remembering the extent to which Christ humbled himself to give us the best Christmas present imagineable, is how we celebrate this season. it's not about us or what we receive. We've already received the most costly gift.
Cool! I've been learning all about this stuff recently, too.
I've also been learning all about how we as Christians are to live a life of advent (which basically means we're waiting for a coming or an arrival). We wait to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, we meditate on Christ's death on the cross, and now we await His return. But as we wait, we are called to be holy and set apart unto Him, with a heart and mind like that of Christ, caring for all the people in the world. As we enter the season of Christmas, I don't want it to be about me. It's about the babe in the manger, the man on the cross, and the ruler in heaven. And it's also about His heart for others.
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