A Devotional Thought From The Christmas Story In Luke 2
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10
Which shall be to all people!
Christmas is for all people. Many
have heard little or nothing about it, and many are made uncomfortable just
hearing the word, and many simply do not want it - any other religion’s holiday
is okay, but if it’s about Jesus Christ they wish it suppressed, mocked, or so
changed and trivialized that it becomes acceptable to an intolerant society.
Why do those who don’t believe
react so strongly to a cheery “Merry Christmas,” or a carol being piped in over
the intercom at the courthouse, or a nativity scene in the park? Why don’t they
just say, “Oh, the Christmas season is a fun time for all of us, even those who
don’t believe in it. It helps the economy wonderfully, in fact, without it the
economy sometimes teeters on the brink of recession and would probably fall,
but Christmas saves the day and makes things better. Christmas keeps the
Christians busy, satisfied and politically docile and peaceful, after all they
claim the baby is the Prince of Peace. So let’s just enjoy it, and forget about
it after it’s over.”
Why don’t they say that? After all,
if they don’t believe in or accept the meaning of Christmas what difference
does it make to them? Ignore it, grin and bear it, increase business because of
it, or pity it as you see fit, but why don’t they leave it alone for the rest
of us. It seems logical that any freethinking person who believes in freedom of
individuals to celebrate as they choose would express their belief in freedom
for all by letting Christmas bless those who wish to enjoy it. So why do they target
such an innocuous celebration that is generally helpful, and pleasing to
everyone? Could the secret be that somehow in their heart they know that this
religion’s story is true, and they want to suppress it? Perhaps they realize
that if people learn that the baby of Christmas is a Savior who is Christ the
Lord they will go to him in large numbers, and in faith.
Some of the best recognizers of
God’s truth in the New Testament where those who refused to receive Jesus as
Lord, in fact, His enemies. They recognized that Jesus was claiming to be God’s Son come into the world at Bethlehem, purposed to go to the cross at Jerusalem, but they
refused to receive Him. They, at one
point in His ministry, wanted to stone him, and when He asked why they said, “…because
that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God” (John 10:33). He was claiming to be
God in the flesh, they refused to believe it, and certainly didn’t want society
at large to acknowledge His claim by celebrating His birth. They didn’t want
society acknowledging His birth, or baptism, or teaching, or miracles or death
and resurrection. Neither does modern society.
Why? The great missionary, E.
Stanley Jones, has written “The redemptive God is so desperately needed in our
world that Jesus is inevitable. We cannot do without him. Can the lungs do
without air, the eye without light, the heart without love, life without life?
No more can we do without Christ.” (CHRIST AT THE ROUND TABLE, p.277, ©1928).
Is the fight against Christmas the world’s acknowledgment of what Jones has
written?
Merry Christmas!
