December 25th is Christmas – the church festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Services are held, remembering the events around Christ’s birth that were foretold in the Bible’s Old Testament and recorded in the New Testament Gospels (Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2).
Actually historical evidence shows that Jesus was not born at this time of the year. The modern celebration incorporates many myths and legends, and cards and carols are frequently not faithful to the Bible record.
For many people Christmas is simply a secular celebration. It can be a time of excess and reveling, which is in danger of being totally unchristian and displeasing to God (Galatians 5:20-21; 1 Peter 4:3-4).
Christmas is said to be a “season of peace and good will”, (a phrase drawn from the angels’ message to the Bethlehem shepherds in Luke 2:14). But sadly the bad news continues. Last week 15 people were killed in an antisemitic attack on Bondi beach in Australia. In the UK, resident doctors are striking in the midst of a huge demand on the health service due to winter flue. And wars continue in Ukraine and throughout the world. People ask, “Where is the good will?”
Is the Christmas message just a nice story, a legend? Has everything gone horribly wrong?
No. Nothing has gone wrong with God’s purpose: far from it. Everything went “wrong” when Adam sinned and brought death into the world (Romans 5:12). But God’s plan has not failed. God’s words never fail (Isaiah 55:11) and He has promised a world full of His glory (Numbers 14:21). He said that this is as sure as His very existence. It is the supreme divine promise of “good will”.
God’s Kingdom will come. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that this will come as a result of human action. Not even the efforts of the churches. It will happen after Jesus comes back. The earth will then, and not before then, be transformed and full of God’s glory.
This promise is for those who are faithful followers of Jesus Christ. He asks us to remember him all the time, follow him, and try to imitate him (John 15:13-14). It is pretty pointless just remembering Jesus at Christmas, if we forget about him for the rest of the year.
Anna Hart
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