12/24/2010

The Truth about Christmas

Replace Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays?! 

This pressure in western countries seems to be heating up. Of the many greetings I received this year, half omitted the word Christmas. The argument bandied about is that, Christmas is no longer politically correct.

Is political correctness winning over truth?

The truth is, Christmas symbolizes the day the world witnessed an astonishing self-humbling: God almighty made Himself in the likeness of man. The greatest act of grace.

Jesus Christ totally surrendered His will to the will of His heavenly Father. He became flesh in a manger, lived and worked in humble surroundings, and died between two criminals.

Through this human birthing, God revealed this truth: only through Jesus can man go on living in a glorious eternal home.

How can December 25 (or the day the shepherds heard from heaven), then, not be anything but Christmas?

In my new book, Grace Found Me, I wrote about real people mired in insurmountable circumstances. But always, in time, grace came to teach, save, nurture, heal, and comfort. Yes, through the potholed road of life, God's grace finds you and me again and again.

Who can fathom this act of grace delivered on Christmas day?

No one. Grace remains the greatest mystery of all time. We are not called to explain grace but to believe, seize, share, and be grateful for it; and to enjoy the hope of being with Him forever when He calls us home.  

In fact, His birth was not explained. The angel simply said, " . . . Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10 (KJV)

To take Christ out of Christmas leaves it meaningless.  

But believing in Jesus, born on Christmas, our Savior, births a new spirit in us. "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name . . ." John 1:12 (KJV)

Merry Christmas!

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