The Messiah For All Seasons

Many folks will spend today opening gifts, feasting and surfing TV channels to find something to watch that won't chloroform them to sleep.

That's what Christmas has become for much of the western world that gives only a nominal nod to the Son of God Jesus Christ for whom the holiday is supposed to honor.

Though Christmas isn't the true birthday of Christ--we don't know the exact date of His birth--it should be a day to reflect upon the real reason why Christ entered this world.

And that reason wasn't to give people an annual excuse to engage in pagan revelry such as excessive eating and drinking, partying, lounging around on the couch watching TV or opening presents.

That reason was to reconcile a sinful human creation back to God by Christ's death on a Roman cross and His resurrection from the dead. Without that everlasting atonement, we would all be dead in our sins and condemned to an eternity in hell.

But for many people, that's not a popular message because that message forces them to face the reality of their sinfulness and rebellion against God.

Yes--I'm referring to the millions of professing Christians across the world who don't live for the Savior they claim to follow.

There's a difference between being affiliated with a church and actively serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Church membership and or infant baptism does not make someone a Christian.

Faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ is what makes a person a genuine Christian in God's eyes. As the apostle Paul wrote to the early Roman church nearly 2,000 years ago: "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:8-10)

That message should be the focus of Christmas. No world religion or faith offers the hope of eternal life through the death and resurrection of a savior as Christianity does.

And no other world religion or faith can because apart from Christ they offer only the false hope that human beings can atone for their own sins and gain eternal life by following the rituals and traditions of man-made religious systems.

The Christmas message should be all about the cross rather than an infant in a manger. It should focus on how God extended His grace to mankind by sending His perfect Son Jesus Christ into the world to cleanse us of our sins by shedding His blood on Calvary's cross.

In fact, that's a message that we should reflect upon each and every day of the year.