Do you know exactly what Christmas means?
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January 12, 2025 |
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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14)
What kind of gift have you prepared for Jesus in celebration of Christmas, who left all the glory of heaven and came to this earth? You should give Him a pure and beautiful fragrance with all your heart, mind, and sincerity. Many people think of Christmas as ‘a holiday’, ‘a festival’, ‘a gift-exchanging day’, or ‘Santa Claus day’. Celebrating the birth of Jesus is replaced by worldly entertainment and carnal pleasures. Even those who attend church have no idea of the meaning of Christmas and recklessly follow the trend of the world. What then is the true meaning of Christmas?
Above all, Jesus came to earth to give salvation to mankind. Through the birth of Jesus, mankind can be freed from sin and saved. When Jesus came to this earth in the flesh, it was the beginning of the ministry of human salvation. In other words, Christmas is the day Jesus was born on earth to save mankind, and it is the happiest day to mankind. What would have happened if Jesus had not opened the way for human salvation? All were sinners because of the sin of the first man Adam and destined to everlasting punishment in hell. By Jesus’ love of crucifixion and resurrection, however, we are forgiven and obtain the beautiful heaven. We should engrave this grace of salvation into our heart and give thanks to Him every hour and every day until He returns.
Next, God demonstrated the greatest love through Jesus. God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to this world to save sinners. Jesus, without sin nor blemish, was crucified on a wooden cross on the behalf of sinners and shed His blameless blood. The wages of sin is death and the forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of blood which is identical to life as written in Leviticus 17:11, through which we can escape from death and gain life. Only Jesus’ blameless blood can cleanse us from all sin. Also, Jesus had to be hung on a tree and become a curse on our behalf to redeem us from the curse of the law, which dictates that the result of sin is death (Galatians 3:13). Jesus had to receive all kinds of sufferings and sacrifice His own life to save sinners as a Savior. God gave His only begotten Son Jesus as atoning sacrifice for us, and Jesus made a great sacrifice to pay for the price of our sins. God could not endure when people live in sin and fall into hell, so He gave His only begotten Son as a propitiation for our sins and it is the demonstration of His love (Romans 5:8). Jesus was born on earth by God’s great love and on Christmas we celebrate it.
Lastly, God wants to bring His true children into heaven and to share love and joy with them forever. He created mankind and has been cultivating them. He also prepares a beautiful heaven for them and desires everyone to be saved and enter heaven. In fact, God is not simply satisfied when we are saved and enter heaven, but wants to gain those children who have thrown away sins and evils, accomplished sanctification, and borne the fruits of spiritual love, of the Spirit, and of Beatitudes and moreover resemble the Lord. With Him, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day, and He wants to obtain His true children who accomplish the heart of the Lord and bear the beautiful and good fruits through human cultivation. When such people stand before Him, God is comforted and well-pleased, saying, “My beloved son! My beloved daughter!” I wish for you to give your heartfelt gratitude to God who sent His only begotten Son Jesus and to Lord Jesus who came down to this earth in the flesh to bring the joy of salvation and prepare the beautiful heaven, and to celebrate Christmas to the fullest.
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