Christmas is always a joyous time of the year with beautiful lights and decorations, Christmas music, church services, family gatherings, and the aroma and taste of home cooking including Christmas cookies and candy. The thrill of giving and receiving gifts adds the extra excitement to all the festivities.

With all the excitement it sure is easy to lose and even miss the whole meaning of Christmas. To ask the question of why we celebrate Christmas is not only healthy but extremely important.

Christmas is a remembrance of the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is amazing is that the Creator who made the universe and upholds it by the Word of His power decided to become one of His creatures, so He took on human flesh. He did not come as a military general and overtake the government. Rather, He came as a little baby. He was born, not in a clean pleasant place with doctors and nurses to help. Instead, He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. This is a picture of the humility of the God of the universe.

Yes, He was born as a king. Yet His kingdom is voluntary. He wants us to submit to His reign in our lives because we want to out of love rather than being forced by military fear and force. John tells us that He came unto His own and they received Him not, but as many as receive Him, them He gives the power to become His son, the son of God. Don’t misunderstand that, if one does not voluntarily receive Him, it is required that they bear the consequences of such a decision which results in not having eternal life.

In Matthew chapter one, it is recorded that His name was to be called Jesus because He came to save His people from their sins. God is a holy God and cannot live with sin or the disobedience to His law. Therefore, man is condemned to a separation from God. Yet, out of love God wanted to remove that barrier. So Jesus came with one of His main purposes to the human race was to die sacrificially for mankind and remove the barrier. Still He offers that pardon to us who must voluntarily receive it.

Another amazing part of the Christmas story is that His name also was to be called, “Emmanuel.” The significance of this name is that it means, “God with us.” God originally created the human race for the purpose of being a vital part of our lives. As a matter of fact He designed us to be partners together with all of life. He designed us to be totally dependent upon God for everything. He wanted to live right inside us to empower us to live life.

Mankind, as we all know, decided to be independent of God and travel our own way instead of God’s. This is a major part of the Christmas story, that God came to restore the original design. He came to be with us and if we will receive it to live through us to empower us in life.

We wish you a most blessed Christmas and thank you for taking a moment to think about why we celebrate this special holiday. May God bless you with abundance of life this Christmas in allowing God to live through you!