"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone…
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
— Isaiah 9:2,6
What I want most for Christmas, is for each and every one of us, myself included, to remember what this day is really about, what it commemorates. Maybe you haven't even realized before what it's about and this will be the first time someone explained it to you. If that's so, I hope I can do my part well in telling this story.
About two thousand years ago, a baby whose name was Jesus was born of a virgin in a small town in the land of Judah, of Israel. Yet the words above were written by the prophet Isaiah about seven hundred years before that. Because the birth of this child was no normal event, and not a mere milestone of ancient history. The birth of Jesus Christ was the beginning of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, His promise to bless all the nations of the world through Abraham's descendants, and to establish a kingdom without end, in which righteousness and goodness and blessing would remain forever.
And so Jesus was born, and a great light was brought into the world. So was the darkness of my wicked heart defeated, and so might yours be as well. "For to us a child is born…" He was born to us, to all the world, that all the world might know Him, and praise Him, and be free in Him. "… to us a son is given…" He belonged in the first place to someone else, and yet was given up for our sake, given freely, given in love, given to a people undeserving, unworthy, and ungrateful. "… the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." No ordinary baby was He that lay in that manger in Bethlehem. Look at these names, and consider who could ever rightfully claim them. Nearest friend, a King of kings and ruler of the world, eternal deity. The baby born of a virgin was in every way Lord of lords, Almighty, the only God, who was and will be; and yet He came, humbly, as a child, to grow as a man, and die as a criminal, having committed no wrong, yet taking upon himself the punishment for my wrongs — for the sin of the world was laid upon Him, and of His own will did He bear it.
Jesus came into this world not so that we should have an excuse to take time off work; not so that we could exchange gifts, eat good food, or even so that we might spend time with our family and friends who we love. Jesus came that we might have life, and life to the fullest, not only now, but forevermore. So today, please, lay aside these things — the presents, and the decorations, all of the festive lights and food and distractions of all kinds, even the people — lay aside in your heart all that which holds back or entangles, which need not be negative things only, and just take some time to reflect on what this time means; remember why we celebrate — who we celebrate.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, to suffer, and to die, and to be raised from the dead, as a man, and yet as God, that any and all who turn and believe and follow Him would never die, but live everlastingly in the joy and presence of the glory of God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. And this is the reason we celebrate. This is the reason for Christmas.
— Joel