MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

By Jemima Rayan

There can be no Christmas without Christ. Historians look at Christ as a history maker. The religious folks look at Christ as a religious leader. You can have all the information in this world about Jesus Christ but, if Christ is not in your life, it is not worth it.

What does Christmas mean to you? What are you looking forward to at Christmas? Let us explore what God did at Christmas. How we need to reciprocate that which God has taught us in His word. There is indeed much meaning to Christmas!

Christmas is a time of giving:

'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life' (John 3:16). It is one thing to give and it is another thing to give the 'only'. God gave His only begotten son. God is the best model for giving. The Bible says in Rom 8:32, 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? God is in the business of giving all the time. The Bible says, ' Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our Salvation' (Ps 68:19).

Our God wants to give us His best in every way possible. But oftentimes, our eyes are not able to see the goodness of God. Our God wants to bless us abundantly. Our God is a good God. We need not be skeptical about that. He is good all the time. Just because bad things happen around us all the time, it does not change God a tiny bit.

Christmas is a time of receiving:

I am not talking about receiving the gifts that others give us. But I am talking about the gift that God has already given us: The gift of JESUS CHRIST. The Bible says that 'the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus' (Rom 6:23). A gift will not have achieved its purpose until it is received. God has given us the gift of eternal life.

Have you received this gift? You can receive the gifts of this world. But if you have not received the gift that God gave you, your Christmas is meaningless. Will you consider making this Christmas a meaningful one?

Christmas is a time of sharing:

After receiving this gift, God wants us to share it with others. There are many in this world that think Christmas is about Santa Claus. They need to know what Christmas is all about. We have the responsibility to share this message with others. The angel said, 'I bring you good tidings of great joy' (Lk 2:10). 'When the shepherds had seen Him, they made 'widely known' the saying which was told them concerning this Child' (Lk 2:17).

Like those shepherds, we need to share the 'good news' with the ones that we know. There are scores of people who do not have a hope in life. They are looking for answers. God always works through people. Will you take the time to share the good news with the lost and the perishing? May God give you the boldness to share the good news.

The Story of St Nicholas:

St Nicholas was born to Christian parents in the third century in Turkey. His parents asked God to bless them with a son and they were blessed with Nicholas in their later years. Mom and dad always taught Nicholas the word of God. He was taught to be compassionate. He always wanted to help the poor and the needy.

The background of today's Santa Claus is from this God fearing man Nicholas. What Satan has done to the testimony of this godly man is ridiculous. Satan has given a negative twist to this man of God and formulated Santa Claus.

Nicholas lost his parents when he was a teenager. He became an ordained minister. Later he became a bishop. Nicholas spend a lot of time in meditating the word of God, praying and fasting. Miracles, signs and wonders happened. The dead people were raised in his ministry.

Once he wanted to help a poor man who had three unwed daughters. He sneaked out in the night and threw three times bags of gold through the window of the poor man. He wanted God to get the glory. He never wanted men to know about his charitable deeds.

When Nicholas died on Dec 6. At his last breath he said, "In the Lord I put my trust". December 6, the day of his death, became St. Nicholas Day on the Roman Catholic calendar. In the Santa Claus character we notice some similarities, like giving gifts at night-not to be seen by anyone.

The story of Nicholas is a beautiful picture of 'giving' that Christmas is all about. St. Nicholas represents the heart of our Heavenly Father. The greatest gift of all is the gift of Jesus Christ to us from God the Father. Jesus is the reason for the season. Christ means 'the anointed one. Christmas means celebrating the anointed one.

'Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning' (James 1:17)

Wishing you the very best Christmas you ever had!