Christmas reminders

Christmas brings hope – tangible, life-changing hope. It’s something the world sorely needs.

Historical facts of Christ’s birth reveal things about God of which every generation needs to be reminded. With that revelation comes hope.

People of all ages carry within themselves a quiet panic over the inability to answer some very basic questions: What is truly real? Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What should I care about? Can I be certain about … anything?

World-weary people of the 21st century can find answers to these questions by understanding the significance of Jesus’ first coming. From that understanding, they can derive both comfort and context.

Almighty God entered the stage of human history out of a personal love for each of us. Acknowledgement of this fact is transformative.

The grand miracle

The biblical record of Jesus is why we can still have hope in this fallen world. If Jesus Christ really conquered death for all people (and compelling lines of historical evidence point to the biblical record being trustworthy on all that it reports), then what it says about each of us is also true.

So, what does Scripture say about you and me? That we matter to God. Our life, hard as it may be at times, is incredibly consequential.

In C.S. Lewis’ book Miracles, the veteran scholar wrote about God’s incarnation (taking on a human body, being born in the person of Jesus). Lewis says of all God’s interventions in the world, Jesus’ coming was “the grand miracle,” noting how specific and precise was this most important happening in history:

Something done by God for, to, and about, Man. And the way in which it is done is selective, undemocratic, to the highest degree. After the knowledge of God had been universally lost or obscured, one man from the whole earth (Abraham) is picked out.

He is separated from his natural surroundings, sent into a strange country, and made the ancestor of a nation who are to carry the knowledge of the true God.

Within this nation, there is further selection: Some die in the desert, some remain behind in Babylon. There is further selection still. The process grows narrower and narrower, sharpens at last into one small bright point like the head of a spear.

It is a Jewish girl at her prayers. All humanity (so far as concerns its redemption) has narrowed to that.

His grand plan

Did Christmas happen as the New Testament records? Yes! Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, wise men from the East, and of course, the infant Emmanuel – it all happened.

So, what does this mean for you and me? Several things:

• God sees. He is aware of our needs.

• God sympathizes. He cares about us.

• God plans. He orchestrated Christ’s coming into the world.

• God acts. He sent His Son at a specific time and place.

• God reigns. He defeated sin, death, and Satan himself,
with … a baby!

Christmas reminds us of the God who is powerful, purposeful, and personal, and this God is as close as a prayer.

This Christmas, remind yourself what Jesus’ birth, life, and promised return truly mean: That your life has purpose and that you matter to God.

The manger reminds us that Jesus sees humanity with unconditional love, and this was coupled with a willingness to embark on a rescue mission that just happens to be the central focus of history.

Editor’s Note: Alex McFarland is co-host of Exploring the Word, heard weekdays at 3 p.m. Central on American Family Radio (afr.net). Visit alexmcfarland.com to learn more about McFarland and his ministry.