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Christians have more reasons to celebrate the
Christmas holidays than any other group of people in the world.
Why? Because we know what all the fuss is about. Many
centuries ago, when even the people of God were being crushed by the
weight of spiritual darkness that filled the earth, God began to
send special messengers straight from heaven down to the darkest
planet in the universe. These messengers we now call angels
were sent to men and women who would play a role in bringing the
wonderful news of the birth of God's Son.
Joseph, a carpenter in Nazareth had a dream where an
angel spoke to him. Mary was visited by an angel, and her
cousin, Elizabeth, had learned that her husband Zachariah was
visited by an angel while he ministered in the temple of God.
Far in the east, learned men had discovered a star that signaled to
them the birth of a new king. They followed that star all the
way to Jerusalem, and then on to Bethlehem.
Elizabeth, a woman who had been unable to conceive in
her child bearing years, miraculously conceived. Her son, the
angel had said, would go ahead of God's Messiah to prepare the way.
Mary was also blessed with child, and she had not even been together
with a man. Her child, the angel said, would be called the Son
of God.
God worked in many lives, bringing many different
people together for the birth of His own Beloved Son, Jesus.
Shepherds out in the fields were amazed and then terrified by the
sudden appearance of angels announcing the birth of the Christ, and
praising God. There was Simeon at the temple, and Anna, the
prophetess who met Mary and Joseph, blessing them and giving praise
to God.
The wise men from the east came into Jerusalem, going
about and asking about the new king. King Herod met with them
and was startled to hear word of a new king of the Jews. As
the wise men went on, following the star to Bethlehem, an angel
warned them not to return to Jerusalem, but to go home another way.
While the birth of Jesus Christ was not celebrated by
the whole world in that first year, it has become a world-wide
celebration, nonetheless. In the centuries since the Lord Jesus
walked this earth, the good news of His birth and life and death and
resurrection — and the great salvation he brought to lost sinners
everywhere — has spread to nearly every corner of the globe.
Just as in the beginning, that good news has not always been
received with joy. But in every land where the gospel of Jesus
Christ has been proclaimed, some have embraced the wonderful message
and have witnessed the power of God in their own lives.
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