By Pastor Tommy Lanham
Jesus. This time of year, many people celebrate the birth of Jesus and we call this celebration Christmas. You will often hear people say, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” It is all about Jesus. Sometimes we may lose sight of that. We try to make all the parties. We run around either the malls or the internet shopping for the best gift at the best price. We get caught up in the frenzy of Christmas, and we have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that it is really about Jesus.
Christmas is about God coming down to earth. In Matthew 1:23, the apostle Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Christmas is a reminder that we are not searching for God. God came to earth to find us.
We sing and talk about joy and peace during the Christmas season, but we often forget that joy and peace is more than just songs we sing; it is what God came down to earth through Jesus to give us. God saw a need for peace and joy, and he went to great lengths to give us the very thing we needed. Would anyone disagree that we could all use a little more, and maybe even a whole lot more, joy and peace?
In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that an angel came to some shepherds to let them know that the birth of a Savior and Messiah had taken place that day (Luke 2:11). The angel told them that this news would bring “great joy” (Luke 2:10). Later on, Luke tells us, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:13-14). A large part of the purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to bring joy and peace.
As you “celebrate” Christmas this year, remember that a large part of Christmas is to experience joy and peace. If that is not happening for you, then you may want to reevaluate how you are celebrating Christmas. Here are some suggestions.
Joy
Joy is deeper than just happiness. Joy is something that comes more from within us than from what is happening around us. Ask yourself the question, “What about Christmas brings me joy?”
Even though Christmas is about family, giving and receiving gifts, and maybe even drinking a little eggnog, it is really about God coming down to earth as a little baby to save people from their sins. If we make that shift in our thinking, it may help us experience more joy.
Peace
Peace is more than just an absence of chaos around us; it is an inner experience of calmness and contentment. Sometimes we think that we need to change the things around us to have more peace. It may be that we need to change some things inside us to experience more peace.
Again, if we set aside, if even for a short period of time, all the things we have made Christmas about and instead truly focus on whom it is really about, then maybe we will have more peace. True peace does not come so much from the absence of chaos (as peaceful as that is) but from the presence of the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), and his name is Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.
