What does Christmas mean to you? No doubt it means many thinks to many people. I wonder what Christmas means to a mother who has lost her husband, who must take care of 3 or 4 children, working every day, never quite getting everything done, never making ends meet? What does Christmas mean to her? I wonder what it means to that older husband who has just lost his wife and has no family left in which to celebrate Christmas. I wonder what Christmas means to the little man in Zimbabwe, 80 years old, living in a hut, who knows nothing of shopping malls, jingle bells, or Christmas trees? What does Christmas mean to him? What does it mean to those military personnel who are serving on the front lines in Afghanistan? I’m sure Christmas means different things to different people. To merchants it is the busiest time of the year. For others it means a Christmas bonus. Too many it is a time of fun and parties while to others anxiety and frustration. To the children it is perhaps a time of impatience.
What does it mean to you?
One of the most unique characteristics of Christianity that differentiates it from virtually all other religious beliefs is the incarnation. This is the central fact of Christmas that God humbled Himself to become a man to live with us and die for us so that He could abide in us. The good news of Christianity is that God comes to us in a very personal way to save us and to live in us.
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him "Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." - Matthew 1:20-23
What does Christmas mean to you?
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