The Real Reason for Christmas: Rediscover the True Meaning of the Season

 “And she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in
a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Luke 2:7

Dear Friends,

Imagine a football player stepping onto the field without knowing how to score, pass, block, tackle, or defend. The excitement of the game would fade quickly without a grasp of its fundamentals. Similarly, the spirit of Christmas is diminished if we lose sight of its purpose. I believe it’s time to rediscover the real reason for Christmas!

Thanksgiving is a memory and everywhere you look there is evidence of the Christmas season. Holiday decorations abound, cheerful music plays, and TV commercials highlight December 25th. Even the movies available at this time of year abound with new versions of starcrossed lovers reveling in the magic of the season.

The Real Reason for Christmas

But what is the real reason for Christmas? Is it only about decorations, Santa, and gifts? Are these what touch a person at the core and provide peace, love and joy? Or is there something else?

Somehow, like a football player decked out to play but lacking in the basics, our culture has created a game that seems exciting but lacks meaning. 

In reality, sadness and hopelessness continue despite all the glamour and hoopla of the season. Shoppers stretch their credit in order to purchase things they don’t really need and nobody really wants. Indulgence in cookies and sweets expands the waistline and jeopardizes our health. Strained relationships crumble under unmet expectations and leave hearts in a state of loss and despair.

To reclaim the season’s joy and purpose, we must return to its foundations and embrace the real reason for Christmas. So let me remind you of the true details, design and delight of the Christmas season.

The Details:

Many thousands of years ago an angel appeared to a young virgin girl named Mary. The angel, Gabriel, told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive a baby boy who would be the Savior of the world. Mary humbly accepted this incredible, yet difficult, blessing with grace. 

When her fiancé, Joseph, found out Mary was pregnant, he was troubled and planned to release her quietly from their engagement. But Gabriel also appeared to him. The angel gave Joseph the miraculous news that Mary was carrying the Savior of the world, and encouraged him to take Mary as his wife. 

Near the end of Mary’s pregnancy, the governor made a decree that each person must return to the place of his ancestors to register for a tax. Joseph, hailing from Bethlehem, packed up his very pregnant wife and journeyed with her to the City of David. 

Upon arrival Mary went into labor, but due to the overwhelming crowds and their limited means, they couldn’t find a place to stay. An innkeeper, unable to provide them a room, offered his stable instead.  It was in this humble place that Mary gave birth to Jesus, wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger. 

At the time of Jesus’ birth God sent an angel to announce the birth to some shepherds grazing their flocks on a hillside. The amazed shepherds, surrounded by a host of heavenly angels singing praise to God, left their flocks unattended and traveled into town to worship the newborn King. 

The Design:

Jesus’ birth was not a random happening, but an event that had been foretold throughout all of the Old Testament. The many details of the story occurred just as the prophets had said. God, the Creator of the world, heard the cries of His people lost in their sin and planned to rescue them. 

In order to do this, God sent His only Son into the world to be born in human flesh. Jesus lived the perfect life and through His death and resurrection made forgiveness and reconciliation with God possible – “Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin . . . [so] God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, overflow[ed] to many” (Romans 5:12,15).

The Delight:

The delight of Christmas comes in remembering all God has done for us through the amazing gift of His Son, the Savior, Jesus Christ. All of the trappings of the season are meaningless if we are still shackled with our sin and its consequences. But the beautiful moment of Christ’s birth in a lowly stable in Bethlehem and the perfect life He lived on our behalf brings pure joy to those who believe. For it is through these God-ordained events that our Savior was born for the purpose of securing our salvation. 

There is no real way to fully enjoy the Christmas season if we have lost the details, design and delight of the truth. So this year consider the purpose of all of our festivities. After all, football players without training and Christmas without truth have no meaning. 

Transform Your Celebration

This holiday season, pause amidst the festivities. Read the Christmas story, and reflect on its wonder. Rediscover the real reason for Christmas and let its truth transform your celebration.

Love,

Mama

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