The True Meaning of Christmas

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!

Many people today make a similar mistake when they hear the word Christmas.

But what should Christmas means to us who know Christ as our personal Savior?

Several key words will reveal the answer.

Christmas should mean joy to us.

In Matthew 2:10 it says the wise men were “thrilled with ecstatic joy.”

In Luke 2:10 it says that the angel proclaimed to the shepherds,

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”

The joy that Christmas brings to us is a joy the world cannot know.

Christmas means joy to the true believer because we have met the Christ child of that first Christmas and our life and destiny has been changed forever.

What a cause for joy!

Christmas should mean hope to us.

The purpose of Christ’s coming to earth was to bring hope to people in despair and darkness.

Through Adam’s sin, the whole human race had been plunged into sin and despair without hope.

The Christ of Christmas came and was born a sinless man and lived a perfect life, fulfilling the law of God.

He died as a sacrifice and substitute for all man’s sins.

He rescues man from the guilt and penalty of sin and brings bright hope for a sin-darkened world.

Christ of Christmas is the hope of the world, but that hope is not realized unless they receive Christ as their Savior.

Christmas, to the believer, means hope because as Colossians 1:27 says,

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

This hope sustains us in this life and comforts us in our trials.

Christmas gives us hope for all eternity.

Christmas should mean peace to us.

The true peace of Christmas, by its very nature, is limited to true believers in Christ only.

John 14:27 says

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you not as the world gives, give I unto you let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Christmas should mean grace to us.

In John 1:16 we read in the Amplified Bible:

“For out of His fullness (abundance) we all received – all had a share and we were all supplied with one grace after another and spiritual blessings upon spiritual blessing, and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift.”

Since we know the Christ of Christmas, we are supplied with one grace after another.

We are graced out through Christ.

We receive all of God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

We don’t deserve it, but God pours out His grace to us through the Christ of Christmas.

Christmas should mean forgiveness to us.

Matthew 1:21 says:

“And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christ didn’t come just to be born, but to die for the sins of the world.

God demanded a perfect, spotless sacrifice for men’s sins and Christ is that spotless and perfect sacrifice.

This perfect sacrifice could only be provided by God in human flesh dying for sinful man.

Salvation and the forgiveness of sins was the main purpose for the birth of the Christ Child.

Only the believer knows the forgiveness of sins, and Christmas is a time to rejoice in our forgiveness by Christ.

Christmas should mean worship to us.

Luke 2:20 says

“The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.”

Just like the wise men worshiped the Christ Child and the shepherd’s glorified and praise God for the birth of Christ, so should we worship Christ and praise God for sending Him.

May we not get so caught up with the celebration of Christmas itself and the giving and receiving of gifts that we forget to worship the Christ of Christmas.

Christmas should mean victory to us.

We as believers have Immanuel – God with us. If God is with us, then Christmas means victory to us.

The world may not celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, but we as believers can.

We saw what Christmas should mean to us.

May we have a great Christmas!

Blessings!

Pastor Ken Keeler, Director of Church Ministries