It’s amazing how significant Christmas is in our culture. Though many children may not know that Christmas is connected to Christ, they certainly know about Christmas.
What do you need to know about Christmas?
Here are four things everyone needs to know.
First, Christmas describes real events with real people and real eternal consequences.
From time to time I hear people assertively questioning, “Do we even know those people ever lived?” Many times they are talking about Jesus Himself.
The truth you need to know is that the people associated with the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke were real people. Even in our day, the names of the innkeeper or even Mary or Joseph would not be recorded.
Everyone could or would know about Herod the Great. We know when he lived (40 BC – 4 BC). We know the names of his wives and many of his children. We know that he was paranoid and ruthless, hungry for power and willing to do anything to keep it. The Romans new Herod well. They knew him well enough to know that he took the lives of his favorite wife and many of his family members. The Romans even had a little saying about Herod: “Better to be Herod’s pig than to be his son.” The word for pig and son in Greek rhyme. Therefore, it was a catchy little statement. It was also a true statement. Herod was a mass murderer and a brutal tyrant.
Second, Mary and Joseph were faithful, obedient, and godly people. What they did and how they followed the direction of our heavenly Father is an amazing picture of submission to God.
Third, Christmas shows us God’s amazing plan for all of humanity. Christmas means that God has unveiled heaven and allowed us to see and know Him. God desires that everyone would know Him as Lord and Master. God gave His Son to bring hope and salvation to a dark and broken world.
Fourth, we need to know the demands of Christmas. Christmas demands obedience, allegiance, submission, and devotion. It means that we do something.
It calls us to take the gospel to all the world. It calls for us to look at all the people around us as people who need to know of God’s grace and glory. Christmas demands life-long devotion to God and God’s plan for our lives.
Do you know what you should know about Christmas?
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