PHILADELPHIA (BRN) – Every year, we Americans have the privilege of celebrating the Christmas holiday and season.
We have beautiful, cherished traditions that include family, friends, gift giving, cookie baking and tree decorating. We have the blessing of Christmas being a national holiday, and many of us get to celebrate the season’s festivities for days, weeks or even the whole month of December.
All of this is good to a point. But, in all of our fun, perhaps, we have drifted too far from the important message of Christmas.
Many Christians I know would say yes, we have certainly drifted too far from the central message and significance of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ. Most Christmas movies made today do not even mention “a higher being,” and even less mention Jesus Christ.
There have been, and still are, many movements to “keep Christ in Christmas” or keep “Jesus the reason for the season.” These are noble endeavors, but they do not go far enough.
In keeping Jesus as the center of our Christmas season, a biblically-accurate Christ must be shown. For the Jesus of the Bible is the only one who has the power to die on our behalf.
The mission of Christ must not be reduced or separated from the season. The baby we celebrate being born at Christmas did not remain a baby, but he grew up, was crucified to pay for our sins, and rose again, fulfilling all that he said he would do.
The mission of the Jesus Christ of the Bible is to ransom people from every tribe, language and nation. Jesus’ birth and His mission must not be separated from each other. We must not separate the manger from the cross and empty tomb.
This Christmas season, I challenge you to consider the scope of Christ’s mission: it is for all people.
In Luke 2, the angel tells the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10b-11 ESV).
The angels proclaim to the shepherds that this Savior is not just for the wealthy, powerful or even exclusively for the people of Israel – he will be for all people everywhere.
Jesus is good news for the whole world. This long-awaited child will be the light to the nations as prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 49), as well as the suffering servant who will bear the sins of the many (Isaiah 52-53).
Jesus expects us, his Church, to continue his mission of reaching all the peoples of the world with his glorious gospel of salvation.
This Christmas season, as you spend time with family and friends, and participate in holiday festivities, I pray that you will keep Christ and his mission for all nations in mind.
I hope that you will be led to pray for the lost and missionaries reaching them, give to missions and share about God’s love to unbelievers in your life.
Because of our faith in Jesus, we have the best reason for celebrating this holiday season. Not only do we have eternal life to look forward to, but we have a relationship with God right now!
The Christmas season really is the most wonderful time of the year. Enjoy it, and enjoy the richest blessings of being a follower of Jesus Christ.
“Missions Minded” is a new monthly column written by Jack Elliot, Missions Mobilizer for Nehemiah Teams. Each month, Jack will explore a different topic or spiritual discipline and relate it to the field of missions – a field close to his heart! For any questions or more information about how you and your church can get involved in impacting the nations, please feel free to contact Jack at jctn@protonmail.com.
