Christmas is a day and season when those who identify with Christ celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus. Jesus’ birth signifies when God physically dwelt among mortals through Christ Jesus. God’s mission for sending Jesus Christ to dwell among mortals was to redeem us from our sins. He showed the way by telling us the truth of God and by his exemplary life of selfless devotion to all mortals.
Biblical antecedent
In times of old it appeared impossible that God would physically dwell among sinful mortals as we are. Solomon asked in 1 Kings 8: 27 but will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Solomon in spite of his wisdom could not imagine how God could dwell among mortals although God had said so on many instances.
God said in Leviticus 26: 11 I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. However, God does not want his dwelling to be defiled. He said about the need to clean the camp in Numbers 5: 3, they must not defile their camp, where I dwell among them. At Christmas and in this season, God’s children are called to clean our hearts of sin in expectation of God’s visitation through Christ Jesus which must also be celebrated in sobriety in the holiness of our hearts.
Rules for celebration
God said in 1 Kings 6: 12-13 “Concerning this house that you are building (Solomon’s temple but now our hearts) if you will walk in my statutes, obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my promise with you, which I made to your father David. I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel’. This is the message of God for our celebration. It requires obedience and reverence to his word and ordinances or statutes.
Prior to Jesus’ birth, God lived among his people in spirit. God said in Exodus 29: 45, I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. Every believer is born of God as a people of God for Paul wrote in Romans 3: 22-25… For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.” We are all God’s children.
Jesus came for all mankind
God loves us equally and came to save all mankind. Job 36: 5 says surely God is mighty and does not despise any. Jesus affirmed this in John 6: 37 everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away. God shows no partiality against our ethnicity, race, gender etc. 2Chronicles 19: 7 says there is no perversion of justice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking of bribes. Jesus said in Matthew 5: 45… for he (God) makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
In this season, God expects us to present to him a gift of a contrite heart. Psalms 51:17 says the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. The wise men sent their gifts to Jesus on his birthday. Our gifts to Jesus must be our contrite hearts in love for him. Let us celebrate Christ Jesus with the simplicity of heart in sacrificial love leaving all our high horses but to help the needy, the wretched and those without hope as God did for us through Christ Jesus.
God’s gift to us at Christmas
At Christmas, God gave us his only begotten Son to save the world without withholding whom he cherished most from us because of his unfailing love. God spoke at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 17:5, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. At Christmas, God gave us his most pleasing gift so in reciprocity, we must give to Jesus at Christmas the best of our clean hearts.
The quality of gift which God gave to us at Christmas manifests in scripture. John 6:40 says this is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day. John 20:31… Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. God gave us his only Son in whom was and is and shall be all authority.
Paul wrote in Philippians 2:9-11, therefore God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Peter testified in Acts 4: 12, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We must give God our best, what he will be pleased with.
Our gifts to God at Christmas
Jesus has already told us of the gift he wants, the gift of love. John 13: 34 says a new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (Read also John 15:12).
We must also give Jesus our hearts for his dwelling which he will never reject; hope to many who have lost or are losing hope in God; unconditional love to the forsaken and despised; be servants to all as Jesus did; and to and to show the way back to God to those lost in spirit. Let us not withhold our best gift from Jesus for God did not withhold his best from us in this season. Shalom!
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, you came to us in love to show us the way back to God. At Christmas, help us to also exhibit the love to have given us to one another in all circumstances in preparation for your second coming. In your love forgive us of our sins and save our souls today in your holy name, Amen!!
