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A Christian
Thought for the Month - December 2013
Thoughts for believers & seekers
Thought for the Month -
The Messages of Christmas
Luke 2:10,11 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 in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.”
These two verses from the Gospel of Luke in the Bible, convey a number of messages from heaven to us here on earth. Let’s do a little Christmas meditation together shall we. It starts off, “an angel”. Over the years I’ve heard a number of real-life testimonies of people who encountered beings that could only have been angels, beings from heaven, messengers of God. These testimonies have such credibility but they challenge our purely materialistic view of this world. They say there is something more, another world, another dimension and it’s all about God. That’s the first message of the Christmas story, there is a divinely supernatural dimension to existence and if we deny it we miss out in a most terrible way.
But then we read, “the angel said to them.” The Christmas story is all about divine communication and it is so incredible and so amazing and so complex with so many different strands - virgin birth, angels, shepherds, wise men - that the more you think about it the more real it becomes. But then there is nothing strange about this because the Bible is all about a God who communicates with us, a God who wants us to know about Him and know our potential with Him. That’s the second message of Christmas, He wants to communicate something to us.
Then comes the message: “Do not be afraid.” How spot on that is, because at the mention of God, so many of us dive for cover literally or figuratively. If there is a God He could be nasty and have bad intentions towards me. Is he going to tell me off? Why would God want to have anything to do with me? Scary! No, do not be afraid. That’s the third message of Christmas, we don’t have to be afraid of God.
“I bring you good news.” Oh yeah? It’s like those cold callers on the phone, who start out, “I not trying to sell you anything,” and you know that if you give them space that’s exactly what they are trying to do. If someone has good news, there has to be a catch. And that’s the lie that so many of us have been sold: it can’t be that good, it’s got to be a con! You know, I can look back at over forty years of Christian experience and in that time I’ve got it wrong, other people have dumped stuff on me, and the sky has fallen on me in a whole variety of ways, but when it comes to dealings with God, He’s only ever spoken and done good to me. The bad has never been Him! All He brings is good. That’s the fourth message of Christmas: God has come to bring us good.
“Of great joy.” This is not about a little bit of help from God, a little bit of good; this is big life-transforming stuff that brings ‘great joy’. Over the years I have watched many, many people encounter God and yes, sometimes there have been tears as they have faced the mess they had got themselves in, but afterwards - always! - there was great joy. I don’t know how many people’s lives I’ve seen transformed but the transformation always comes with ‘great joy’. That’s the fifth message of Christmas: God has come to bring us great joy.
Se what comes next: “that will be for all the people.” The end product of Christmas is for everyone - young, old, good, bad, religious, non-religious and from any and every people grouping. God’s intent to bring goodness that is so good it is always accompanied by great joy, comes to you and me and not one of us is excluded. The only reason we may be excluded from receiving all this goodness and joy, is because we exclude ourselves and say, “I don’t believe.” How sad! How crazy! That’s the six message: it’s for all of us with no exclusions.
But note what comes next: “Today in the town of David.” Well that was written to people who knew their history and they knew that the home town of King David in their history, was Bethlehem. Suddenly this account is grounded in time-space history, and it happened in a specific place on earth. This was no make-believe fairy story. The Christmas message is founded in history - it happened and it happened in a specific place to specific people and in the New Testament we find the language of testimony, of people who are saying, “I was there, I saw it, I experienced it.” This is the seventh message of Christmas: it is real, it happened here on earth to real people.
Then finally: “a Saviour has been born.” Ah, we’re on familiar nativity ground here - a little baby. But how incredible that this little baby somehow, in ways that defy our understanding, is going to grow up into a man who will reveal himself, to those with eyes to see, as God. And He’s come to rescue us - that’s what a saviour does. I don’t know about you, but I need rescuing. Left to my own devices I make a mess of my life, I’m not nice, I’m self centred, I get people’s backs up, I get defensive and foul up. Oh yes, I do good as well and on a good day I’m nice, but it’s all the other days that worry me! And God turns up and says, “I love you and I’ve come to help you,” and my heart is melted and I am changed. I needed it forty years ago and I still need it today. That’s the eighth message of Christmas.
Oh, I forgot the last two words: “to you”.
Luke 2:10,11 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 in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.”
These two verses from the Gospel of Luke in the Bible, convey a number of messages from heaven to us here on earth. Let’s do a little Christmas meditation together shall we. It starts off, “an angel”. Over the years I’ve heard a number of real-
But then we read, “the angel said to them.” The Christmas story is all about divine communication and it is so incredible and so amazing and so complex with so many different strands -
Then comes the message: “Do not be afraid.” How spot on that is, because at the mention of God, so many of us dive for cover literally or figuratively. If there is a God He could be nasty and have bad intentions towards me. Is he going to tell me off? Why would God want to have anything to do with me? Scary! No, do not be afraid. That’s the third message of Christmas, we don’t have to be afraid of God.
“I bring you good news.” Oh yeah? It’s like those cold callers on the phone, who start out, “I not trying to sell you anything,” and you know that if you give them space that’s exactly what they are trying to do. If someone has good news, there has to be a catch. And that’s the lie that so many of us have been sold: it can’t be that good, it’s got to be a con! You know, I can look back at over forty years of Christian experience and in that time I’ve got it wrong, other people have dumped stuff on me, and the sky has fallen on me in a whole variety of ways, but when it comes to dealings with God, He’s only ever spoken and done good to me. The bad has never been Him! All He brings is good. That’s the fourth message of Christmas: God has come to bring us good.
“Of great joy.” This is not about a little bit of help from God, a little bit of good; this is big life-
Se what comes next: “that will be for all the people.” The end product of Christmas is for everyone -
But note what comes next: “Today in the town of David.” Well that was written to people who knew their history and they knew that the home town of King David in their history, was Bethlehem. Suddenly this account is grounded in time-
Then finally: “a Saviour has been born.” Ah, we’re on familiar nativity ground here -
Oh, I forgot the last two words: “to you”.