A number of years ago we wrote a Marriage Message by this same title, “Missing the Christmas Message.” We’re repeating it this week because of its relevance.
It’s especially important during this time of the year and beyond to consider the following questions: How many of us miss the Christmas message in all of our busyness? How many of us miss the Christmas message because we rush past it? And how many of us miss the God’s message to us because we never really stop to think about it?
“In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their ‘flying machine’ off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: ‘We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas.’ Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, ‘How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas.’ He totally missed the big news —man had flown!” (Daily Bread)
As I read the above story, I thought, “He missed the REAL point of the message!” And then I thought… How many of us are missing the Christmas message—the REAL message? In doing so, we miss the GOOD NEWS of why the Christ of “CHRIST-mas” came to earth to be born in a manger so many years ago. The point is that HIS birth, His sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, made our spiritual “RE-birth” possible. Now that truly IS Good News!
The Real Christmas Message
“Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a ‘Bethlehem’ for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. ‘You must be born again‘ (John 3:7).
“This is not a command. It’s a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God so ‘Christ is formed’ in me. And once ‘Christ is formed’ in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me.” (Oswald Chambers, from the devotional, My Utmost For His Highest)
This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let’s not forget to take the celebration BEYOND His birth. It’s important to take into our lives ALL that He is and ALL that He has for us. This includes our married lives. We must remember that marriage is a living picture of Christ’s love for the church. So how we live within our marriages is a holy picture that should reflect in how we treat each other.
The Traditional Christmas Message
To most people, as long as Christ “behaves himself” and remains a babe born in a manger —all is okay. Jesus should not be interfering in how we live our lives beyond this season. The Christ of Christmas is a nice tradition. Not too many are threatened by an innocent baby. But will we put additional effort into putting Christ into His rightful place beyond Christmas?
Jesus, who is God, came to us in human form. He was born in a manger, and grew up to become Savior and LORD of our lives. Jesus wasn’t born to remain in the form of a baby. He grew into a man and died on a cross—bearing upon Himself all the wrong we’ve ever done. Ultimately, Jesus did this to save us from ourselves. He then rose from the dead. This is so that as we believe in and accept Him as Savior, we can have victory over sin. Because of this unselfish deed, there is now also victory over the death of eternal separation from God.
The REAL Christmas Message
We see throughout the Bible, that Jesus is more than a cute baby in a manger:
In GENESIS Jesus is the Ram at Abraham’s altar.
In EXODUS He is the Passover Lamb.
And in LEVITICUS He’s the High Priest.
In NUMBERS He is the Cloud by day. He is also the pillar of fire at night.
In DEUTERONOMY He is the City of our refuge.
In JOSHUA He’s the Scarlet Thread out Rahab’s window.
Yet in JUDGES He is our Judge.
In RUTH He is our Kinsman Redeemer.
In 1st and 2nd SAMUEL He is our Trusted Prophet.
We see in KINGS and CHRONICLES that He is our Reigning King.
In EZRA He is our Faithful Scribe.
In NEHEMIAH He is the Rebuilder of everything that is broken.
And in ESTHER He is Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate.
In JOB He is our Redeemer that ever lives.
Also:
In PSALMS He is my Shepherd. And for this reason, I shall not want.
In PROVERBS and ECCLESIASTES He is our Wisdom.
In the SONG OF SOLOMON He is the Beautiful Bridegroom.
We see in ISAIAH that He is the Suffering Servant.
In JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS it is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet.
In EZEKIEL He’s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.
And in DANIEL He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace.
In HOSEA He is my Love that is forever faithful.In JOEL He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.
It is in AMOS that we see that He is our Burden Bearer.
In OBADIAH He is our Savior.
In JONAH He’s the Great Foreign Missionary. It is Jesus that takes the Word of God into all the world.
In MICAH He is the Messenger with beautiful feet.
In NAHUM He is the Avenger.
We see that in HABAKKUK He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival.
In ZEPHANIAH He is the Lord mighty to save.
In HAGGAI He is the Restorer of our lost heritage.
And in ZECHARIAH He is our Fountain.
In MALACHI He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings.
And then in the New Testament we see that:
In MATTHEW He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
In MARK He is the Miracle Worker.
Yet in LUKE we see that He is the son of Man.
In JOHN He is the Door by which every one of us must enter.
In ACTS He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus.
We see in ROMANS that He is our Justifier.
In 1st CORINTHIANS He is our Resurrection.
In 2nd CORINTHIANS Jesus is our Sin Bearer.
And in GALATIANS He redeems us from the law.
In EPHESIANS He is our Unsearchable Riches.
In PHILIPPIANS He supplies our every need.
Additionally, in COLOSSIANS He is the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily.
Also:
In 1st and 2nd THESSALONIANS He is our Soon Coming King.
In 1st and 2nd TIMOTHY He is the Mediator between God and man.
And in TITUS He is our Blessed Hope.
In PHILEMON He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.
In HEBREWS He is the Blood of the everlasting covenant.
And in JAMES it is the Lord that heals the sick.
In 1st and 2nd PETER He is the Chief Shepherd.
We see in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd JOHN it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love.
In JUDE He is our Lord coming with 10,000 saints.
And in REVELATION, He is King of kings and Lord of lords!!!(Author Unknown)
Above all, don’t miss the REAL Christmas Message: JESUS
This Christmas and throughout the New Year, we hope you will fully embrace Jesus. And if you haven’t already done so, may you accept Him as your personal Savior. Additionally, may you place Him as Lord to live every part of your life to His glory —ESPECIALLY within your marriage.
Lastly, as we think of you, please know:
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
Cindy and Steve Wright
— ADDITIONALLY —
Are you looking to end this year and start the New Year by growing your marriage? We give a lot of practical tips in our book, 7 ESSENTIALS to Grow Your Marriage. We hope you will pick up a copy for yourself. (It’s available both electronically and in print form.) Plus, it can make a great gift for someone else so you can invest in their marriage. And who doesn’t need that? Just click on the linked title or the “Now Available” picture below to do so:
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