Faith | Christmastime holds memories and a backstory
Christmastime often brings to mind special memories of all kinds – crisp cold air, cozy warm dancing firelight, wonderful family gatherings, lovely Christmas music, yummy food to enjoy, and special Christmas gifts given and received that bring smiles down through the years.
Sadly, too many of us get caught up in the frantic busyness of the holiday season and lose our focus on what truly is the one special gift that Christmas is really all about, the birth of Jesus, God’s Son.
The gift of Jesus has an amazing backstory, a story that answers the most important questions in life: What happens after death? Will you cease to exist? Where will you spend eternity?
God created mankind in his own image and put eternity in their hearts.
The entire Bible, whether we realize it or not, is centered around Jesus, the Messiah. Christmas represents when our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, was born fulfilling Old Testament prophecies. All the animal sacrifices were only a shadow of the Messiah’s sacrifice, which satisfied the justice of God and obtained the promise of eternal redemption for those who trust in him.
About 2,000 years ago, God the Holy Spirit placed God the Son within a young virgin Jewish girl who physically gave birth to Jesus, who is also called Immanuel, which means God is with us. Jesus was fully God and fully man in the flesh and experienced temptations just like we do.
When he was about 30, he began his public ministry by performing many miracles and teaching about God and his kingdom.
He predicted his own death and resurrection, and made some astounding promises about eternal happiness.
Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and out of his love for us was willingly unjustly brutally crucified. He took upon himself the wrath of God for our sins in order to offer us his perfect righteousness in setting us free from sin and its consequences – eternal separation from God.
He then shocked the world by miraculously coming back to life three days later, being seen not only by his disciples, but by over 500 people on one occasion. This demonstrated that he truly was God and had power over death.
Even though you may feel insignificant, an all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, just, and loving God wants a personal relationship with you. He loves you as if you’re the most important person in the Universe.
The problem is that God is perfect and just and cannot tolerate sin of any kind in Heaven. God sent his Son, Jesus, a part of himself, to give you the choice of living in his heavenly kingdom in happiness forever or residing in a place of torment separated from the presence of God called Hell.
Salvation is a one-time event that happens when you put your trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
The beautiful thing is that God alone gets all the credit, honor, and glory he rightfully deserves from this decision and once given, this perfect gift from God cannot be taken away by anything a person does or does not do. It is the ultimate gift, the gift that we celebrate at Christmas and all year long.
May this Christmas encourage you to be thankful for what Jesus has offered you, and inspire you to accept this God-given gift by trusting in him as your Savior and Lord.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
Lee Walter is Sunday School superintendent at Columbia Bible Church in Kennewick. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.