Amid the busyness and expense of this hectic month it’s worthwhile pausing to ask the question ‘What’s it all about?’.

We think of the various ingredients that goes into the mix of a traditional Christmas; the lights, the trees, the presents, the decorations, the dinners, the turkey and cranberry sauce, the plum pudding and of course, Santa Claus.  For many this is as far as they get.  There might be the occasional Carol Service or nativity play thrown into the mix, giving a nod towards a religion of sorts.  There are some for whom Christmas is just about the alcohol, the music, the party and the dance!  Some even go the whole way down the track of a pagan winter festival by calling the season Xmas.

We definitely ought to have Christmas without the alcohol and the music of the world. And as much as I enjoy other aspects of a cultural Christmas such as the lights, the trees and the decorations we can enjoy the season without any of this also.

This is because Christmas is not really about the flashing lights, cards with snow scenes nor is it even about Santa Claus and the gifts.

CHRISTmas is about a person. His name is in the season yet He is the party host whom everyone ignores as if He doesn’t exist. His name is JESUS. Christmas is about JESUS.

BUT – what is Jesus all about.  At Christmas we celebrate the virgin, the stable, the donkeys looking on, the sweet child wrapped in swaddling bands, the angels in the sky, the shepherds leaving their flocks behind and the wise men travelling in from the east.  The story stops here, we pass from Christmas to the New Year and we leave Jesus there in that stable.  In so doing we miss the true meaning of Jesus and the real truth behind Christmas.

On the first Christmas God offered a sacrifice in presenting humanity with the greatest gift that ever was.  God gave His Son.  The angels instructed Joseph that Mary’s first born son must be called Jesus, a name that means Saviour because JESUS SAVES.

The incarnation of the eternal Son of God when He was conceived in Mary’s womb to be born as a tiny baby, to suckle her milk and be cared for as any other infant – represents the greatest act of sacrifice and humiliation this world has ever witnessed:

“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”
(John 1:14)

BUT why was He given?
For what purpose did He come?
Who does He save?
How does He save?

These questions get to the heart of Christmas.

Thirty-three years later Jesus as a young man, with a beaten face and body soaked in blood stumbled up Calvary’s hill just outside the city of Jerusalem. On that lonely summit an old rugged cross was laid out on the ground. The young man was stretched out while the hammer swung impaling His hands and feet to the wood. He was lifted up to die in indescribable agony. Not only did he die as a victim of barbarity, He was also a sacrificial offering – the Lamb of God. On that cross He bore our sins and our guilt. He suffered our penalty as He was made a curse for us. He was broken for us that we might live.

CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT THE CROSS

God gave His son to become a man that He might die as a man for mankind.  We can’t have the stable without the Saviour, we can’t have the carols without Calvary, nor can we have the lights without the one Who is the light of the world.

Christmas is devoid of true meaning without Christ and His cross. But what does the cross demand? – WORSHIP and SURRENDER. Unless we kneel by faith at the foot of His cross and give our lives to Him Christmas has no meaning.

God has shown us the way through His humiliation, His sacrifice, His gift. Are we willing to surrender our hearts to Him and give Him the gift of our lives!

Christmas is traditionally a time for giving. We give not to receive, but to acknowledge JESUS who was given by God. True giving encourages a thoughtful and a selfless spirit. It is more about the heart, the spirit in the gift rather than the gift itself. This Spirit is a reflection, albeit pale, of God’s gift to us.

BUT as we give and celebrate Christmas with our families have we a thought for the heartbroken, the lonely, the shut-in, the elderly in nursing care and others whom the season passes by? These are people who have memories of Christmases past, but memories are all that they have. What does it say about us if we enjoy Christmas and all the cultural trappings of the season without a care or a prayer for those who hurt. A little love through a kind visit or a simple call can share the spirit of the giving Saviour to others this Christmas.

If we learn anything from the heart of God in giving His Son it must be this – that the spirit of the cross has an infinite power to reach out across the divisions of the world, into the dark places where people find themselves, into the widow’s heart and orphan’s pain. The spirit of the cross not only transforms BUT it equips us to transform others not just at Christmas but throughout the year.

Have we the courage and vision to dedicate ourselves to Christ our only hope; the world’s only hope – the one Who is known as ‘the desire of nations’.

Whatever time we have left – will it be all for Jesus because He gave His all for us!