“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”–Colossians 1:20–22
The most important part of the Christmas story isn’t the shepherds or the angels or the wise men. In fact, the most important part of the Christmas story isn’t about the birth of Jesus at all. It is a wonderful gift of God’s grace that His Son came into the world to be born as a man, but that is just the beginning of the story—the introduction. To really understand Christmas, we have to look to the end of the story. The most important part of the Christmas story is the reconciliation to God that is offered through Jesus Christ.
Someone summed up the meaning of Christmas in these simple but beautiful words:
If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator,
If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness,
So God sent us a Saviour.
There are a lot of things competing for our attention this time of year. It is right and proper that we enjoy the good celebrations of Christmas with family and friends. But we must never lose sight of what Christmas is about. “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14).–Paul Chappell
