Christmas Is…”
Text: John 3:16-18
How do you explain the meaning of Christmas in just a few words? Well, the best way I know is this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christmas means a lot of things to a lot of different people. To some, it is a time of shopping and spending, a time of drinking and carousing, a time of traveling and entertaining…but what is the real meaning of Christmas? What message should it convey to every one of us?
To me, Christmas is… A TIME OF REMEMBERING – remembering the great love that God had for each and every one of us. He loved us so much; that He spared not His only Son that we might be saved. It’s about remembering the uniqueness of His life, His teachings, His miracles, His prophesies, His death, His resurrection.
Secondly, to me, Christmas is… A TIME OF LOVING – People make a special effort to be a little kinder, a little more considerate of others, and a little more generous during the Christmas season. It is a time for reaching out to others with love and concern. God so loved the world-let us never forget that!!! In all of our preaching, teaching, evangelizing, etc., let us always remember that the motivation for all this is the love of God for lost sinners. He really cares about us. So should we care as He cares. So should we love as He loves.
It is A TIME OF GIVING…For God so loved the world, that He gave… Love cannot look with indifference on the hungry, and the sick, and the lonely, lost souls of this world. Love must give. God gave all He could give. He gave His only begotten Son. This gift was freely given, lovingly given, graciously given to all of us who were undeserving sinners.
Christ shared our human nature that we might receive His divine nature. Day by day, those who receive Him are being transformed into His image, until we all come into the full stature of the perfected children of God, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Finally, it’s A TIME OF FORGIVING…. God was willing to forgive us. He was willing to show mercy to a sinful, lost, and dying world. Do we possess His forgiving spirit? Or, is our spirit a judgmental one that looks down upon others?