Christmas -- Just
the Facts
by Chaplain Jim Robinson
I needed to write a Christmas devotional for the December newsletter but I was really dragging my feet. I was reluctant because there have already been thousands of such devotionals written. I was hesitant because the essence of the Christmas message is so wonderful and we all know it so well.
I am confident that all of you who read this know that the secret of finding the deep meaning and joy of Christmas is in recognizing and acting on the obvious – that God so loved us poor sinners living on the earth that He sent His Son into the world to suffer and redeem us out of our bondage to sin and evil.
He accomplished this in a strange and beautiful way by touching a wonderful young Jewish girl by the name of Mary. She had by her life and attitude already found favor in the heart of God. The Holy Spirit came upon this young virgin and impregnated her so that her son, born that mysterious night in a stable in Bethlehem, became known both as the Son of God and the Son of man.
Christ clearly showed He was unique by His consistent, loving attitude and righteous demeanor. He lived out His life without becoming entangled in the bondage of sin. As a man He never committed a single sin. He knew that even one sin would have meant the loss of total freedom and righteousness.
We didn't understand that for ourselves did we? We thought a small sin wouldn't be so serious, but the next thing we knew we were in bondage. Somehow those little sins had enslaved us and we were no longer free to avoid what we could clearly see were more serious sins. It is no wonder that in God’s eyes ALL sin is serious.
How wonderful it was to realize that the Babe in the manger, who lived out His life without sin, was the highest expression of God's character and amazing love. He allowed evil men to crucify Him on a cross atop Golgotha in order to bear the punishment for my sins. Remarkable love! I could appropriate His sacrifice for me simply by lifting Him up in my life and recognizing Him as Lord. This miracle freed me from the penalty and bondage of sin and allowed me freedom. Amazing! Just like that I was free, and received inner power from His Spirit to say no to the various expressions of sin in my life.
We all can experience this as He sets us free and begins to transform us so
that we can say with His servant Paul that, "For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Not only has He set us free from
bondage, but by His perfect love, removed all fear from our lives. That is
freedom! We know that's what Christmas means. We don't' really need me or anyone
else to give us highly sentimental stories to illustrate that part of the truth.
Let us embrace the living Savior who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
There are obvious natural responsibilities that flow from all of this. As we
receive a new life from our Savior, we must allow Him to assume His rightful
place as Lord of our lives. We live out our love for Him by living in obedience
to Him.
When Gary Endermann, a dear servant of the Lord with whom I was privileged to work with in California years ago, used to talk about the Kingdom of God, he said that the Kingdom was simply made up of the King and a bunch of dumbs. You know who the King is, so you can probably figure out who the dumbs are. Yeah, the dumbs are us. It is really crazy when any of us dumbs try to direct the King of Kings (or other dumbs!)
Recognizing the reality of who Christ is, we need to simply and purposely
abandon ourselves to His will. I don't mean a passive abandonment. I mean a
conscious, complete commitment to continuously do His will, both in
attitude and action. The abandonment must be there because He is the power
for our attitudes and actions. With that power we will see lost men, women,
and children through the eyes of Jesus. We will be learning to love those who
persecute us. It also means we put to death the old, selfish nature. Oh, I
know that's difficult. That's why we let Him do it for us. We can be crucified
with Christ and He will live in us. Praise God He takes care of everything
when we give Him everything!
It’s not necessary to have a Christmas devotional every year. We can simply look at the essence of what Christmas is all about. Looking at those facts can lift our spirits and make us want to sing with the angels hymns of praise for who Jesus is and what He has done in our lives, and what He will still do if we give Him our all! God bless you and we wish you a Merry Christmas!
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