Who, what, when, where, and why

Every Monday morning here at work, the ec team gathers with all the other folks in the student ministry department here at LifeWay for a time of prayer and devotions. This morning, our fearless leader (and director of the department), Jimmy Hester led the devotion time.

And even now, almost two hours later, one phrase of what he said keeps replaying in my mind: Christmas is not just about when Jesus came, but why He came.

Think about that. Oh, sure, it's easy to get excited about Christmas. There's all the songs, decorations, gifts, bell-ringing, parties, and special events, even at church. There's a lot of noise around Christmas, and as Christians, we often find ourselves angrily remarking to the sales associate who wished us a happy holiday that Jesus is the REASON for the season.

And He is. Christmas is when we celebrate Christ's birth, when we remember and commemorate that God sent His one and only Son into the world as a tiny baby born in Bethlehem to parents of lowly social standing. He was and is the Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy. That tiny baby was God in the flesh, the Hope of the nations, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Emmanuel, God with us.

Yes, Christmas is about all those things, but it's also about a God who would give Himself up for us so that we could be saved. Jesus' birth—from His first cry to when Mary swaddled Him in cloth and laid Him in that manger—began His steady march toward the cross.

Jesus came to this world with a purpose. He came to live among us and display God's love, but He also came to die so that we might be saved. That baby in the manger grew up to be the Man pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our sin. And it is His wounds that heal us from the deadly disease of sin.

So as you prepare to celebrate the season this year, don't forget that Christmas isn't just about Jesus coming to earth; it's also about why He came and what His birth meant for all of us.

Spend some time reading in the Book of Isaiah this week. Try Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:2-7; Isaiah 53; and Isaiah 60:1-2. Thank God that His Light has come, in the Light of the World, Jesus, who lived and died and rose again so that we might be saved.