Recently I shared a message entitled “Light of the World” and in John 1:1-5 we read that:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Jesus is the light that penetrates the darkness of sin in the world. Jesus is the message we are to proclaim to the world.
It was important to remind people just how special this time of the year is for us. We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and now we are in the full holiday season mode as we approach Christmas.
Consumers Reports has said that:
Nobody wants to stand in lines or deal with crowds during the holiday season, but more millennials (those ages 18 to 35) dread it.
That political discussions with family members, attending parties, and hosting relatives or other guests also cause holiday angst among more millennials, compared with Gen Xers or baby boomers.
Getting into debt during the holiday season is particularly painful for Gen Xers. A greater percentage worry about holiday debt more than any other generation: 36 percent, compared with 29 percent of millennials and 25 percent of baby boomers.
Putting up holiday decorations, then getting the house back in order after the holidays also plagues more Gen Xers than baby boomers.
Fewer baby boomers seem to dread these holiday circumstances, although they do share some of the typical concerns, like gaining weight and avoiding aggressive drivers.
So what was that first Christmas like? Well, it was noisy sheep in a stable, grungy shepherds coming in from the fields, a worn-out donkey from carrying a pregnant woman from another town, and a manger filled with hay.
Yet as crude, as the conditions may have been, there was a reason to celebrate,
Jesus had been born!
-Mary's reputation had been tarnished,
but Jesus had been born!
-Joseph and his young bride were in a strange town,
but Jesus had been born!
-They were poor beyond imagination,
but Jesus had
been born!
-No one cared about the situation they were in,
but Jesus had been born!
Jesus' birth brought salvation to all of us, that’s redemption.
Jesus birth showed that no sin is too great, no past is too dark, that’s forgiveness.
Jesus birth revealed that nothing can separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ, that’s grace.
So as you go from party to party and from store to store pause often and remember that Jesus' birth brought us all redemption. Shows us all what forgiveness really looks like. Is revealed in God’s grace.
Merry Christmas,
Elbert Nasworthy