12 Days of Christmas 2016 - Day 1: The Truth About This Season

12:00 AM Kaitlyn 0 Comments

"It's the most wonderful time of the year." In this season, it's not hard to notice that. There's the cheery red and green decorations. The songs that everyone knows the lyrics to. The happy spirit. The time together with family. The joy of giving. That's what Christmas is all about.

© The SoCal Gal
At least...that's what most people say it's about. Is Christmas really about Jesus' birthday? It does have "Christ" right in its name. Originally derived from the words "Christ's Mass," "Christmas" means the festival of commemorating Christ's birth. But why would we celebrate this baby's birth? A few weeks ago, I performed in a skit about holiday vacations. The main character, a client, was exploring different vacations. As the skit unfolded, the main character realized that Christmas isn't about just chillaxing on the couch doing nothing, but it isn't about busying ourselves with seasonal activities either. It's about celebrating Jesus' birth because of the rebirth He granted us by coming down to lowly earth as a man, as 1 John 4:9-10 says.
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
See, just because Jesus was born thousands of years ago doesn't mean it doesn't affect us now. Instead, it's actually the opposite! Jesus' birth not only affected humans during his time, but it also affected humans living before him as well as after him. Not only that, but His birth fulfilled a host of prophecies. Read these verses from the Bible about Christmas:
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).
"Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). 
About 2000 years ago, a young betrothed virgin, Mary, was visited by the angel, Gabriel. Gabriel told her she was with child, and that the baby that was to be born was the promised one - God incarnate. Well, Mary was rather frightened, however, her response to this was to worship the Lord. Our response should be like that of Mary's. When we think of Jesus' miraculous birth, that should cause us to worship God even more!

Friends, during this busy season, don't forget to press pause on your busy schedules. Stop and think about how amazing this God is. He had His son, Jesus, humble himself into a lowly man so that He could minister to the Jews and Gentiles about the good news. He did this for you! Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to sort of demote himself and take away your punishment and carry it on His back as if it was His own. Are you willing to accept Him into your heart? Are you willing to push aside the hustle-bustle of this season and stop to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas? Once you do, you will really understand just why it's the most wonderful time of the year. There are songs of Jesus' birth playing everywhere to remind us of the great news. You'll appreciate sharing this wonderful joy with your family. And you'll realize that Christmas is actually about giving and getting. God gave us Jesus, so that we could get eternal life. And that, my friends, is what Christmas is truly all about.

A SoCal teen inspired to live intentionally for the glory of the Savior and to use her words as a way to pour into others and point them towards Him. Kaitlyn’s blog is the outlet for her love of both words and teaching as well as her passion for Jesus.

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