4 Reasons Christmas Changes Everything

Christmas is a big deal for Christians. Perhaps you have never put much thought into why that is. Yes, this is the time of year where people decorate, have a few extra parties, and play some seasonal songs; but for Christians, what makes it joyful is not that Santa comes bearing gifts, but because what Christmas actually means and represents.

So whether you believe in Jesus or not, Christmas is a big deal to Christians. And if the Christmas story is true, here are four reasons why it changes everything.

1) Christmas shows us God isn't distant

Christmas is the celebration of God coming into his creation. Not because he needed us, but simply because he loves us and desired to make a way for us (even though we didn't deserve it) to experience his grace and love. Jesus came to make a way for anyone who desires it to enter into a relationship with God himself possible because of what he came to do.

What this also means is that God, contrary to what some may assume, is not a distant God. He didn't create the universe and then leave us to ourselves. He came because he loves us, which shows how intimately involved he really is.

2) Christmas shows us God cares

My favorite thing about the celebration of Christ coming is what it means. In this life, every single one of us has and will experience hardship and pain. Many times these experiences leave us questioning why are supposedly loving God would all so much suffering to take place.

And while there is much to say about how this could be possible, the reality is that there isn't a fully satisfying answer as to why that we can comprehend. But even though we may never totally understand why God allows certain things to happen, Christmas does show us one thing; it isn't because God doesn't care. Because if God didn't care, he wouldn't have come.

In fact, nothing screams I care more than coming to make a way for us to experience grace and forgiveness. So if the holiday seasons are particularly difficult for you, my hope is that you would know that in the midst of the pain, you and I can still know that God cares because he came.

3) It shows us no one is too insignificant to God

The first people who find out about the birth of the Messiah are a bunch of Shepherds (Luke 2) in a field. Shepherds were the equivalent of what we would think of in today's terms as garbage men and fast food workers (and please understand, I mean no disrespect to people in those jobs, the comparison is that our society as a whole does not think highly of those professions).

This means the first people to hear about the birth of the savior were the uncool, poor, non-influential shepherds. And if you are familiar with the life of Jesus, you also know that after Jesus is crucified and killed, the first people to find out that he had resurrected and come back to life were women! And at that time women were basically considered second-class citizens who couldn't even testify in court because what they said carried no weight.

So Christmas is a poignant reminder that no one is too insignificant to God.

4) Christmas shows us that this is not the end

John 3:16-18 states,

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God."

Christmas is the celebration that God has come not to condemn, but to offer hope, grace, forgiveness, and love. One day Jesus will return a second time to initiate the eternal reign of his Kingdom in a recreated heavens and earth, where those who have trusted in Christ will live with no more pain, sadness, sickness, suffering, evil, or tears. Where are deepest longings are fulfilled and where no true need goes unmet. And how do we obtain this? Through what Christ, not we, have done.

Christmas is the celebration of welcoming to the world the one who takes away the sins of the world to all who would follow him.

Now you may not believe Jesus is who he said he was, but if this story is true, Christmas changes everything.

P.S. If you live in or near the Raleigh area, we'd love to have you join us at one of our Christmas services this year. We are holding them on Sunday, December 23, at 4:15 & 6 PM. You can get more info about them here.