The relevance of Christmas

It is by His birth—God becoming man and living among us on this earth—we divide world history as AD (Year of the Lord) and BC (Before Christ). He was not a founder of a religion, but came to define man’s relationship with God and fellow beings. Only subsequently, those who followed His teachings in their lives began to be called ‘Christians.’ And Bible , the book about Him, is not intended to be a religious text, but a guide to life. 

Before Him, a man was judged by his obedience to the Ten Commandments of God given through Moses. But sinful man proved incapable of obeying all the commandments on his own. Christ’s coming was the fulfillment of a prophesy made 700 years before His birth: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) God’s love to the world is manifest in sending His own Son to our earth to be the one and ultimate sacrifice to redeem mankind from the power of sin. He shed His sinless blood on the Cross and it is an article of faith with His followers that this blood is able to cleanse all men who believe in Him from unrighteousness. This was the great work of reconciliation of sinful man with holy God once and for all. 

Through Christ we are made perfect in God’s eyes. We are forgiven from all sin, past and future. When we receive Him, He gives us his Holy Spirit that has the power to change us and make us more like Him. Jesus , who resurrected on the third day, is still engaged in the work of transforming man. This conversion is “from sin to salvation, from idols to God, from slavery to freedom, from injustice to justice, from guilt to forgiveness, from lies to truth, from darkness to light, from self to others, from death to life and much more.”(Jim Wallis)

Of His impact, James Allan Francis (1864-1928) wrote: He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.

He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying—and that was his coat. When he was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. 

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life.