Through him you were created. Christmas is often seen as a time to take a break from the worries and stresses of the rest of the year. For some, however, it can be a time of increased stress or sadness. Either way, understanding who Jesus is and why we celebrate him can be more than just season changing, but life changing. John 1 says that Jesus was there in the beginning and all things were created through him. You, you were created through him. He is one with God and is God and through him all things were created. Through him, you were created. So that means he knows you, and if he knows you he certainly knows the trials and stresses your going through. Now Jesus didn't promise us a stress free life in this world, in-fact he reminded us constantly that it was going to be difficult, but he did give us this promise, that as he was there I the beginning and even when we were created, so he is with us always, even till the end of the ages (Matthew 28).
Because of him there is so much more. Too often Christmas becomes all about the worldly, our worldly friends and worldly possessions and our wordly stresses. Either Christmas causes more stress or is a break from the daily stresses. In Romans 8 the Apostle Paul is under a good deal of stress, but he says “I do not consider this present suffering worth comparing to the glory that awaits us”. To remember Jesus is to remember that the stuff that goes on here is nothing compared to the awesome eternity that awaits us and it's all because of Jesus.
Jesus offers forgiveness. The reason we have a hope in eternity through Jesus is because he paid the price for our sins. In short, we are forgiven of our mistakes if we put our faith in Jesus. Romans 6 says that the wages of sin is death, but because Jesus paid the price for our sins (He died on the cross) we have an opportunity to spend eternity in heaven. Christmas is often a time when we look back on the year and for some it is a year filled with regrets. In Christ you can put your faith in him, repent of sins (stop sinning) and look forward to a new year, one with promise rather than regret.
Jesus offers a new life. Along with regrets come the desire to start over and make a new life, a life filled with hope and promise. All the gifts we receive at Christmas from the smallest trinket to the most expensive can't really make our lives better, but Jesus can. If he gives us hope, eternal life, and forgiveness, then receiving those things will mean that we can have a new life. Christmas is always filled with newness, new things, a new year, maybe new relationships, but what about newness of life, a second or third chance to live right. Jesus gives us that chance. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that if anyone is in Christ he/ she is a new creation. Happy new life seems so much greater than “happy new year”.
Jesus offers community. Christmas is about getting together with those you love. In Christ that community gets a whole lot bigger. We spend time with our family and with neighbours at Christmas, but Jesus says its beyond just those who share a last time or a street. He says brothers and sisters are all those people who believe in God and follow him and neighbours... well he tells a story that involved two people who couldn't be more opposite, and he said that is your neighbour, and he called us then to love our neighbour. But it's more than just acquaintances. Think of how many Christmas parties you've been to where most of the people are acquaintances but you don't know them that well. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians that in Jesus we are not just a group of people who go to Church together on Christmas, but we are one. We are so close that we are one body even working together and worshipping together. Christmas can be a lonely time for many but the promise of Jesus is a promise of real and meaningful friendships. In John 15 Jesus commands us to “Love one another as he loved us”.
Jesus gives us a view to something better. Turn on the tv, facebook, or google and you are bombarded with messages from the world. Advertisements and empty promises invade our eyes especially during Christmas when people are out there looking for that good time or that one perfect gift. The amount of useless information thrown at us from day to day can often cause us to be immersed in the shallow side of the world. That stuff calls us to be materialistic and world focused.
So, no matter what you get for Christmas, no matter who you are with, no matter your mood or the stresses before or after Christmas, the real reason for the season is worth celebrating. He is the greatest Gift, the only one who is always with us even when we are most alone, and as short as the holidays often seem we know that the gift of Christ is eternal.