Jacob Ninan
Come Christmas, and much of the world goes into celebrations, not because they believe in Jesus, but because it is a festive occasion with pomp, show, dressing up, dining, drinking, dancing, and much money to be made through sales. People of many religions join in the fun, not because of faith, but it is one of those 'good times'. Warring nations have been known to cease fighting on December 25 and resume hostilities the day after! From early days people have tried to eliminate Jesus from the scenario by renaming Christmas as X'mas and now referring to it as the Holidays. There are a few Christians who ignore Christmas altogether as a Christianised pagan festival, but, in general, most Christians celebrate Christmas as a special occasion – with special 'services' in their churches with singing and festivities and with an annual time with family gatherings.
"One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike... He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord" (Rom.14:5,6). All of us will have to give an account of ourselves before the Lord (v.12), but none of us has the right to judge or look down on what someone else does (v.13). There is no problem with celebrating any day as long as we do it for the Lord. But what if, in the midst of all the celebrations, it is not Christ Jesus who is the focus, but our own entertainment and our showing off our wealth or talents? It is quite possible to get occupied with the details of the festivities and come away after Christmas without having come to worship Jesus in a greater way than ever before, or without exalting His name above every other name as He deserves. Then we have only an empty pocket and an exhausted body at the end of it all! The anti-climax of it all!
Jesus was not one of those many 'great' men whose birthday people celebrate. "For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isa.9:6). He was the Son of God who took the form of a man, lived among people and demonstrated His love for us by taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself and dying for us. He proved for all time that He was not an ordinary man or just a good teacher by rising to life after three days in the tomb. His birth was planned by God even before the world was created and foretold immediately after Adam and Eve sinned. Details such as the family in which He would be born and the city of His birth were given out through the prophets, centuries before He was actually born. Details of His death on the cross, how He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, how the soldiers would divide and cast lots for His clothes were also declared by the prophets. He was no ordinary man. We use capital letters when we refer to 'Him' because we recognise His deity. In a sense, the whole Bible is about Jesus, what He would do for us and how we can receive salvation.
We cannot call Jesus merely a great teacher because the signs that He did showed everyone that God was with Him. Even sceptics of the day like Jewish leaders had to admit that the things He did – turning water into wine, healing lepers and those born blind or lame, walking on water, stopping a storm at sea with just a word, feeding thousands with a small packet of food, raising people from the dead, casting out demons – could not have been done without God being with Him. The disciples slowly came to see that God was not just with Him, but He was God Himself. The sinless life He lived, even though He was tempted just like us in all things, was another testimony to the fact that He was who He claimed to be, the Son of God.
Jesus did not come merely to teach people about God, but to show God Himself in real life situations, so much so that He could declare that whoever had seen Him had seen God. He not only spoke about the love of God for people who had fallen into sin, but demonstrated it by giving His life for us. His life was not taken away from Him by His enemies and He did not die as an unwilling martyr, but He gave Himself to die in the hands of wicked people so that atonement could be made for the sins of the whole world.
When Jesus said that there was no other way to God except through Him, He was not talking philosophy or using flowery language. He meant it literally and without exaggeration. God who made a home for man by creating this whole universe from nothing and finally created man himself and placed him there, found no other way after man sinned to reconcile His holiness, righteousness and hatred for sin with His love for man. It is true that there is no other way to be saved except through the blood of Jesus that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. There is also no one else who has put together such a worldview as Jesus has presented through the whole Bible which can make sense in a comprehensive way. He is unique, and He is indeed the only way to God.
This same Jesus is coming again to this earth, first to reign in all His glory for 1000 years and then to hand over the world to the judgment of God the Father. At that time every single person who has ever lived on the earth will see Him and will be forced to acknowledge that Jesus is indeed Lord above all, some to their eternal joy and others to their eternal despair and misery. Isn't it prudent for us to make sure now itself which side we are going to be in?
If it is this Jesus that we celebrate during Christmas, what should the effect be on us? Will it be about us having a 'nice time' or will it be about our seeing Him so much more clearly that we will fall down before Him in worship? At the end of the Christmas celebrations will our heart be gripped more strongly with a love for Jesus and for keeping His commandments, or will we just be going over in our mind about the 'time' we had – food, clothes, drinks, entertainment, expenditure, etc.?
Is the celebration all about us, really, or is it about Jesus? Nobody naturally likes it when others question us about such personal issues. In any case, it is not necessary for us to convince others. But it is something for us to question ourselves. Our answer has a lot to do with our eternity. Just how we go about during this season has a lot to show us about where we stand in relation to Jesus, despite all the 'show' we make of it and the songs we sing. May this season of Christmas be truly meaningful for us and may we make sure that our relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ becomes strong.
-- Editorial in the Light of Life magazine, December 2019
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