The True Meaning of Christmas

I am willing to bet that as Christmas 2008 comes to an end, many of us are sitting back with our bellies full going over what we got and what we didn't thinking about how great, or how not so great, this years Christmas went.

For us, this was our firstborns first Christmas. Therefore, he has been the center of attention - and rightfully so. Furthermore, this is my first Christmas at Goshen Baptist Church and I have done more funerals that I had wished. It is a reminder how difficult Christmas can be for many of us as we find our mourning while the nation celebrates. But thankfully, even though we might find ourselves mourning over death, Christmas means that we can celebrate because of birth: the birth of Christ.

What is the true meaning of Christmas? We ask ourselves that question every year and it seems to fall on deaf ears. We'll say things like, "Jesus is the Reason for the Season," and yet turn around and fight over the latest video game or baby doll because our children have to have this or that gift. Have we made Christ the reason for the season?

Dr. John MacArthur is reminding us what the true meaning of Christmas is. It isn't about shepherds, a manger, Wise Men, a star, or anything like that. Christmas is about something much more...:

Christmas is about a cross, a substitute that has taken our punishment for us so that we won't have to. We can't save ourselves, only God can. Therefore, let us spend the rest of our lives reflecting on the thought that Christ paid a price He did not owe, because we owe a price we cannot pay!

Merry Christmas . . . And Happy Easter!