25: Judeo-Christian Values In Today's Society
By Robert C. Moore

The Gift Of Christmas
December 6, 1999

Angles
Second
Final
Relate

Good evening my brothers and sisters in Christ. Can I ask you a question? You don't have to raise your hand.
Have you ever brought a gift that:

 

We can look at Christmas like this gift. It is only one gift, but has many different responses. It can also determine what value and importance we place this item in our daily life.

The same present from Aunt Bertha may seem nice when you're a kid, but will be awkward when you're 16.

Like the gift, Christmas has many different angles. We can look at Christmas in 3 different areas:
1. The Secular-The image of Christmas.
2. The Spiritual--the gifts which God has given us.
3. The ultimate Reality. Why did Jesus come in the first place?

On the secular level, we can see this little children do. Do you remember when you would count down the days until Christmas? I remember shaking the boxes and guessing what was in the contents. Maybe it was a game, or a toy, or something really surprising. The possibilities would boggle the mind to what the contents really were. We couldn't wait for to Christmas Day to see what was really in the boxes.

There was a sense of awe and wonder as the days counted down.

But as we grew up, the mystery of Christmas faded and we became more disappointed as the toys gave way to clothes and other needs of life.

If we look at Christmas from only this point of view, the image, we will miss the big picture. We will see Christmas as only gifts we give and receive. You will then wait until you can have kids so that the whole cycle can start again. This only leaves us feeling lonely and unfulfilled. We may like the gifts we got, but eventually we grow tired of them. We look for something new to fulfill us again. This is an experience not only for kids but also for adults. We are always seeking something that will fill us completely.

Although the image is pleasing to the eye, it does not fulfill the soul. In the world you and I live in, the image is everything. Look at advertisements, radio spots or the newspaper. The image is God! We live and die by our image. It is the face that everyone sees, but God sees the heart. Even if everything look okay on the outside, our world inside is empty.

Many people will put on all the pretty decorations around and in their house and hope that this will get them into the spirit of the holidays. Maybe that chill in the air will put their minds at ease.
Christmas is not something external, but rather internal. Yet, we use the image of Christmas to justify our emotions and hopes for the coming New Year. Although I have nothing against decorating the tree, we miss the point entirely about Christmas. Which leads to step 2.

In the second area, we can experience a time of peace. Christmas, more than any other time of the year, is a time to put other peoples need first. Many companies collect food for the poor, have angel trees from the Salvation Army, and give toys for children of imprisoned parents.

You and I can look at this season to be what God has called us to do; to be a service for others. For we can concentrate on building on the body of Christ. Didn't Jesus tell us that we are my brother's keeper?

This can also be a time to experience God in a personal and intimate way. To feel and experience something that this world can not give us.

Let me give you an example. A few years ago, I was searching for peace at a time when I had many questions. God placed this peace within me that I can't describe. It is not the same happiness that we experience in everyday life. For that is only temporary and short lived. What I am taking about is a peace only God can give. A little sample of the great joy that awaits those who love Him.

Let's say this could be a sample of what the joy that awaits us in Heaven. When we will see God face to face and says, "Welcome home my faithful servant." What a joy that will fill and consume us. To spend eternity with the one who created not only the world, but knew you before the world began. Words can not begin to describe the emotions we can experience.

It is a time when we try to reconcile with our family members. To put old bitterness and differences aside, and to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We seek to be together with ourselves and with one another.

Christmas can also be a season of repentance. We could go to confession, attend a prayer service, or say or sins in private. It is a time to admit that no matter how good my works are, God sees them as filthy rags. I can not go to heaven on my good behavior, or by all the good deeds I do. I need the Savior to complete me. Think of yourself as 2/3 complete and God as that missing piece that gives us a reason for existing.

It is where God holds us accountable for our sins and we must be forgiven if we truly want to start over anew. It is not a ticket to let us sin again without conscience thoughts, but to let us be aware that God hates sin, but loves the sinner.

As for the final area, Jesus came into this world to lead us back to the Father.

Here is a savior who came into the world, but there was no room at the inn. They walked across the desert to get to Bethlehem. They were tired and wanted a place to relax and have the baby. The only room available was a stable. Here is the King of Kings. He wasn't born at The Holiday Inn, but rather at a place reserved for the lowest of low.

If Jesus were a real king, he would have servants and maids to answer to his every whim. He would have spoke and his needs met.

You see, Jesus came to be the servant. The one who shows us that it isn't the position you have, the job, or your statue in life that important. It is the relationship with Him that is.

Jesus looked beyond traditions and saw people who were abusing it for their own advantage.

Although they were following the laws of Moses and Abraham, they judged people as guilty from outside their "inner" circle. The Pharisees and Scribes followed the laws to the T, but were all image and no heart. They were the ones who did things to look good, Jesus did it for His father's will. In Matthew 15:11 Jesus says, "Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

Jesus saw people as they were. Whether they were hurting, in pain, sin or in despair, Jesus answered their calls. He can answer ours today.

We can see Jesus as a good teacher, rabbi and prophet or as our Savior. For most of the Jews, he was a good teacher. As you and I read the Bible, we see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy. For he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

How does this relate to Christmas? It is about accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and ready to meet him when He comes again. In a world of busy deadlines and unfulfilled promises, we can look to Jesus as the unshakable rock. We can have a peace of mind and a reason to live.

Jesus will give a feeling of peace and order in your life, a purpose for living and to put order in a disorder world.

Friend, what other reason is there for not accepting Jesus' gift during this holiday season? Let's start Christmas off on the right foot.

For God's gift is free. I said FREE. There are no hidden charges, surcharges or something that God wants in return. We can never measure up to God's expectations. In Romans 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"

Christmas is coming soon. Are you ready to accept God's gift?