What has Christmas in common with a funeral?\u00a0 A funeral is one of those rare occasions when most people are willing to give a hearing to\u00a0 the message of hope that is offered by Christianity.\u00a0 If we cannot think about Jesus at Christmas, when will we give Him a thought?!<\/p>\n
Everyone seems to bemoan the materialism, and sometimes debauchery, that dominates at Christmas time.\u00a0 Many appeal for us to remember the real meaning of Christmas.\u00a0 That is fine, but what do those who make the appeal think the real meaning is?\u00a0 Is it about children and family?\u00a0 Is it about giving and charity?\u00a0 In measure the answer must be \u2018yes\u2019, it is about peace and love, but more..!<\/p>\n
How ever did a child born in a shed at the back of a hotel in an obscure little place in the Middle East come to have the celebrity status of Jesus?\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t even born in Jerusalem and that would have been unimpressive enough two thousand years ago when Rome was the centre of things.\u00a0 He had an unmarried mother, and the father was in doubt.\u00a0 He was brought up in the home of a carpenter but the nearest to woodwork that we know he got was carrying a cross to the place of his own execution.\u00a0 Now millions across all the world worship him as God!\u00a0 How did that happen?<\/p>\n
The angel announced the meaning of the humble birth in Bethlehem to shepherds.\u00a0 He said that a Saviour had come.\u00a0 What he had in mind was not a political or military figure to rescue the Jews from their Roman occupying overlords.\u00a0 The chorus of the angelic host is very familiar but needs to be looked at afresh to get the point.\u00a0 They cried out, \u201cGlory to God in the highest and on earth peace toward men \u2026\u201d\u00a0 Then there follows in many Bible translations the word \u2018goodwill\u2019.\u00a0 Whose goodwill?\u00a0 Is it saying that the men who receive peace are those who have the virtue goodwill?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Or is the goodwill rather that of God who has chosen to bless men with peace?<\/p>\n
And what peace is it all about?\u00a0 Is there a promise of the end of human warring and hatred, and of harmony between people?\u00a0 Or is it about inner contentment and a sense of personal wellbeing?\u00a0 We certainly need both of these commodities.\u00a0 No doubt we need to move towards peace between us all and peace within us all, but there is an even more important kind of peace.\u00a0 It is simply peace with God.<\/p>\n
There is a selfish, rebelliousness in us all.\u00a0 We break God\u2019s rules for life (the Ten Commandments).\u00a0 That results in an enmity (enemy-ness) between us and the One who is our Maker and Judge.\u00a0 We cannot afford for that enmity to go on unchecked.\u00a0 We dare not die in that condition.\u00a0 We need a saviour to remedy the situation and rescue from disobedience and its consequences.<\/p>\n
We need someone who can establish peace between us and God.\u00a0 That is what Jesus did by coming two thousand years ago and by going to the cross for us.<\/p>\n
But if Jesus really is able to sort out our relationship with God and guarantee our eternal welfare, He is important beyond comparison.\u00a0 He cannot be relegated to the periphery of life.\u00a0 We cannot confine Him to church buildings or limit His influence to Sundays.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you think it is time for you to re-assess the place of Christ in your own life?<\/p>\n
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What has Christmas in common with a funeral?\u00a0 A funeral is one of those rare occasions when most people are willing to give a hearing to\u00a0 the message of hope that is offered by Christianity.\u00a0 If we cannot think about … Continue reading