December 25 is one of the most awaited dates in the Christian world as it is supposed to be the birth of Jesus Christ, The Messiah. They call it Christmas, coined from two words: Christ and mass. Others use the word Nativity, the place where the Son was born.
In the Western countries, it is sometimes called Yuletide. It comes from Old English geol, meaning “Christmas day” or “Christmastide” (a word for the period from Christmas Eve to related feast days in early January).
Although the term yuletide is related to the Old Norse jol, the name of the Pagan winter feast lasting 12 days whose name was later applied to Christmas, each letter seems to point out the real meaning of the season.
Think on these…
Y is for you. Jesus was born because of you. He gave His life because of us. Kahlil Gibran once stated, “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
In John chapter three verses 16-17, the apostle wrote: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
As someone puts it: “The Creator thinks enough of you to have sent Someone very special so that you might have life – abundantly, joyfully, completely, and victoriously. You are important!”
U is for understanding. When the Bible says, “It is written…” It means it has been prophesied already. Matthew started his book with the genealogy of Jesus. The author wanted us to know that Jesus was a true human being, descended from Adam. Matthew also wanted the Jews to know that Jesus was a descendant of David. Only a descendant of David could be king of the Jews.
Jesus came without sin for he was born into a virgin. Isaiah predicted: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.” The Virgin Mary fulfilled that. Prophet Micah also recorded when Jesus would be born: “But you, Bethlehem, a ruler will come who will be the shepherd of my people Israel” (Micah 5:2).
L is for love. Jesus left the splendor of heaven just to be with us. John 1:14 points out: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The “Word” is a special name for Jesus. It means that He is the person who reveals God, or tells us what God is like. The Bible says that Jesus existed forever and that he is God.
John called him “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). In Old Testament times, lambs were offered as sacrifices when a person sinned. To call Jesus the Lamb of God means that he would die as a sacrifice to take away our sins. An angel told Joseph that the Son would be named Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins” (read Matthew 1:21). Now, if that isn’t love, then what is it?
E is for example. Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” The birth of Jesus is a living example of how we should live. “Life simply so others may simply live,” someone once said.
Jesus came into this world in a simple manner. Joseph and the pregnant Mary came to Bethlehem all the way from Nazareth in Galilee because of the decree of Caesar Augustus that “a census of the entire Roman world” (Luke 2:1).
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7).
“The coming of Christ by way of a Bethlehem manger seems strange and stunning,” C. Neil Strait wrote. “But when we take Him out of the manger and invite Him into our hearts, then the meaning unfolds and the strangeness vanishes.”
T is for thanksgiving. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him,” asked the Magi from the east who looked for the Child (Matthew 2:2).
Because it took a while to travel during those times, they saw the Infant Jesus not in the manger but in a house. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). That was the start of the tradition of giving gifts during the Christmas season.
I is for influence. From the time He was born, Jesus started influencing others. The first who manifested that threat were the “shepherds living out in the field nearby” who saw “a great company of the heavenly host” and was told that “a Savior has been born.”
Matthew 2:15-18 recorded the event: “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
D is for devotion. This was seen in the life of Joseph. “His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit,” Matthew wrote. “Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”
But before that happened, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20). It was also Joseph who taught Jesus to become a carpenter.
E is for eternity. As long as the world exists, Christmas will never cease to be celebrated. The season is a reminder that Jesus Christ really came, he dwelled among us and died for our sins. When the world ends, those who believed in Him that He was sent by His Father will be with Him forever in heaven.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
