It’s almost Christmas Day! My owner’s got all of the Christmas lights up, and I’ve got my very own “parrot grotto” effect over my side of the kitchen. I absolutely love it! There’s a feeling of anticipation building in the house amongst all the humans that live here. And the radio is blurting out all kinds of Christmas songs and carols. In fact, I’ve just heard Andy William’s singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
But I wonder how many humans truly believe that? Will you really be happier on Christmas Day than on the other 364 days of the year? In some homes, Christmas won’t be an easy time because of problems and troubles and loss. And even on Christmas Day, there will still be people around the world that are homeless or hungry, lonely or ill. So is Christmas joy nothing more than a heap of nostalgic and sentimental feelings?
Well, the fact is that even today, the Christmas story has the power to pack out churches all around the world. Even when some of the humans aren’t really sure why they’ve gone to church in the first place. But a Christian-centred Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year because it’s all about joy. Joy that we can become a part of, even if we’re not feeling it at the time.
The birth of the infant Jesus more than 2000 years ago tells us this:
That we’re not abandoned.
We’re not forgotten.
We’re not condemned.
And we’re not misunderstood.
Instead, the birth of Jesus here on Earth tells us that:
We’re valued for whom we are.
We’re loved despite our faults.
And we’re being offered Salvation from sin; life after death; and deliverance from all of the troubles and hardships and strife of the world in which we currently exist.
So this is the real joy of Christmas. This is what so many of us yearn for, and what drives so many folk to church, even when they’re not aware of it.
Jesus is the gift of God’s love to every one of us….
Happy Christmas everybody! Happy Christmas!
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, watching over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today…. a Saviour has been born to you…’ ” (Luke 2:8-11a)
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