Don’t we all just love Christmas?
Little baby Jesus…we just can’t get enough of him. We celebrate his birth with presents, decorations and (in my house) sausage balls. We cry happy tears through our candlelight services. We sing of peace on Earth.
But let’s look a little closer.
Ya’ll, I love the song but I highly doubt the scenario we celebrate was a silent night. Jesus was born just like every other baby. And I’m guessing Mary screamed her dang head off. Understand that we are talking about two (most likely) teenagers bringing a baby into the world all by themselves. I’d be shocked if Joseph wasn’t screaming too.
But I believe Satan was howling louder than all of them.
As Christians, we love to celebrate Easter. We jump up and down in church on that sacred Sunday. We sing “Victory in Jesus” as we joyfully exclaim our Savior’s defeat of death for us all. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s more to the story, isn’t there?
You see the battle for our souls may have been won in that empty tomb in Jerusalem but surely it began in a stable in Bethlehem?
Lots of people in history have died for something they believe in. Jesus is not savior because he died. He is savior because he lived.
No one except Jesus has ever chosen to be born to die. And that choice should be part of what we celebrate at Christmas. We should be humbled and overwhelmed that we serve a God who would step off a throne and into a womb. A God who chose us over Heaven.
May we never celebrate Christmas again without remembering that the manger is as precious as the cross.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!