essence of christmas

  
   More than the beautiful decorations, the lights, gifts and the good food on the table, Christmas is a birthday. The very Creator of Earth came to us as a child!

Here is the how the Bible records it:

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:26-35

"...In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:1-7

This anniversary is inimitable because of Who Jesus is, but also for the reason that what was prophesied about Him thousands of years before His birth, came true this very night. The prophecies fulfilled in Jesus' life were not a few, there were over 300 prophecies that all fulfilled in His life. From the time of His birth to the way He would die, crucified, Christ has lived them all.

Now to come back to today's reality let's take a look at you, yes at you. Think about this: imagine that all your good friends decided to throw a great party for your birthday, they do let you know because you are so busy and they want to make sure you show up, so, on Saturday at 6 p.m. you must be there! Right, the weekend arrived and elegant, joyful and expecting a great party, you knock at the door of one of your friend's apartment.

No one seems to hear ...well you ring the doorbell, because you realize the music is a bit loud and they might not hear, it is after all the place where your celebration takes place ...you wait but...nothing. Knock, knock, ring, ring and almost 30 minutes have passed and they seem to have a great time but no one opened the door for you!

How in the world? This party is for you after all, isn't it? After a little while the laughter stops of a minute and full of hope, you think they finally heard but...no, it was the champagne glasses clink to make a toast and you hear your name "to our good friend ..." Oh, but you are not even in there! How can they do this to you?

After getting tired of waiting you depart...none of your friends called to check why you didn't come to the party, their phones are off... it goes without saying that ...nobody cared. Disappointed and broken hearted you arrive home...unbelievable! Your birthday celebration without you, the celebrated one! And they say they are your friends too...

It is painful when we apply this story to ourselves but ...this happens every Christmas. There are so many people who celebrate the festival without Jesus as their guest! Let's invite Jesus in our hearts this Christmas and may we really have Him as The most important guest in our homes this year! He brings the true meaning to your Christmas and your life will also be filled with deep joy as long as you have Him in your heart! Once you know Him, you realize you can't live without Him!