When I began to study how to celebrate Christmas, I realized that it is the inception of the greatest gift of all – salvation in Jesus. I learned that God provided this offer of salvation for every human being by rending the veil between God and humanity and destroying death. Christmas will mean little more than an empty time of self-indulgence for millions if we set aside the true meaning of Christmas. God willed His people to be one nation under Him, and because God loves each person equally and deeply, they don’t have to love Him for Him to love them in return. They don’t even have to repent of their sins before He will love them. Even through all of this, God endured so much rejection and disobedience, but He was determined to save them no matter what. God set in motion a redemptive plan from the very beginning.
Genesis 3:15 (KJV) – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
And so, the plan was prophesied. This is the true meaning of Christmas. A long time ago, God prepared the way of The Lord, who came to us in a new, personal way on Christmas. Each one of us should prepare the deep caverns of our souls which are the seat of our feelings, emotions, and wills to receive the Christ-child. This preparation requires a heavy-duty job of deep repentance, conversion, soul-searching, and healing. It can be heart-wrenching, painful, convicting, and tearful. However, the end product is a clear and straight road for Jesus to enter into our hearts. Scripture has taught me when Jesus came to us – He was rejected, ridiculed, disbelieved, avoided, mocked, and crucified. Even with all of this, He was and will always be merciful and gracious, pardoning all of our iniquities, crowning us with kindness and compassion, filling us with good things, refreshing us, teaching us, guiding us, and always helping us.
If God, who is all-knowing and always ready, spent centuries preparing for Christmas, then we, who know so little and are often unprepared for the future, surely can at least prepare for Christmas. Focusing on worshipping Christ’s coming will burn away the holiday distractions and fill us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us all learn to value the thing that really matters and that is to devote our lives to Jesus.
