Thinking of Jesus today

Christmas means different things to people, depending on where they are and who they are. For children, it can mean receiving presents; for adults, it can mean family gatherings; for older people, it can mean many memories, most of them happy, but some of them sad.

Yet those responses, valid though they are, don’t reach the real meaning of Christmas. So what is the real meaning? The real meaning is connected to Jesus, whose birth we remember today.  Why is his birth so important? The answers to that question are given in the Bible.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is a unique person because he is both divine and human. Even although he is the eternal God who made everything, he was sent into our world by his Father to be the Saviour of sinners. So he became a man and that is why he was born in Bethlehem. He became a man without ceasing to be God. This, of course, is a great mystery, yet that does not take away from its reality.  We worship Jesus today, and all year round, because he did this.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus had a unique purpose to fulfil when he became a man. As humans, we had distanced ourselves from God by choosing an alternative way to his will, and because we did that we lost touch with him. But he wanted to resume contact with us. Jesus knew that this purpose would take him not just to Bethlehem but also to Calvary, where he would make it possible for our disobedience to be forgiven by the Lord. There, in a manner that we cannot fully understand, he suffered in our place. So today, and every day, we thank Jesus for coming to Bethlehem and travelling on to the cross at Calvary.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus has a unique present to give to everyone who asks him for it. The unique present is peace and we can ask Jesus for it because he rose from the dead three days after he died on the cross. This peace has many aspects, but one of them is connected to the happiness we can have through asking the Heavenly Father to forgive us and bless us because of what Jesus did on the cross. So today, and every day, we thank God for the peace that is available to us because of Jesus.

As we think of Jesus today, we realise that we cannot see him physically as the baby in Bethlehem or even as the sacrifice on the cross. His birth and his death occurred a long time ago. We look at them by faith, thankful for why he came and died. But it is important to think about the fact that we will yet see him physically when he returns, and when he does we will see him as the glorious ruler of all, who has prepared for his people an incredible eternal destiny. So today, and every day, we thank Jesus for his past, present and future activities.