As we grow older we probably become very familiar with the Christmas story, told in the Gospel accounts of Luke and Matthew. We become familiar with those moments in history, recorded by the gospel writers and retold in the words of the different carols we may sing or listen to.
The historical fact is of course important, but we can think beyond that to consider the meaning of the birth of Jesus.
With this in mind I will share two short and simple statements.
Statement 1 – Jesus did not have to be born.
That Jesus – God made man – was born was only because it was an act of God’s love. The birth of Jesus was a gift, and like any gift it does not have to be given. To give a gift is a choice. God chose for Jesus to be born.
Statement 2 – Jesus was born for you. The most staggering thing about the whole story of redemption is that if you were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have been born, for you. He would still have lived, and died, and been raised from the dead, for you. Jesus was born, for you.
Putting these two things together: the birth of Jesus was a choice; a gift of God’s love. And Jesus was born for you.
So when we talk about the true message of Christmas, yes we talk about Jesus being born in a stable, visited by shepherds and wise men … but the truest message of all is that all this – the birth of God – happened for you, because God … loves … you.
