Christmas and A Powerless Pandemic

God does not call you to celebrate Christmas. God calls you to love His Son.

As mature trees exchanged their lush green mantles of summer for autumn masterpieces of red, purple, and gold, the tenor of the world changed once again. After two years of pandemic stress, the irritants and anxiety of rampant cultural, economic, and political change begin to recede as the sounds, smells, and rhythms of the Holiday Season compete for our attention and hearts.

Insecurity and fear are thieves of faith who steal believer’s focus from Jesus Christ. 

THE FLAME OF CHRISTMAS REMAINS

The miracle of Christmas is all but buried under an avalanche of worldliness that schemes to extinguish the once brilliant flame of this joyous and blessed celebration of love. But tucked into the hidden recesses of yearning hearts are flickering embers of Christmas past, spiritual remnants that still testify to God’s promise to the world of peace and His good will toward man.

“A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory.” — Matthew 12:20

Christ was before the beginning and is the only reason and subject of Christmas.  The birth of Jesus provided a life line into eternity for sinful man in the same way Isaac was spared from sacrifice in the place Abraham named “The LORD will provide.” [Genesis 22:14.]

Jesus came to make the impossible possible, allowing sinful men and women to stand before a holy God. Christmas is the gift of a Savior, a gift which is impossible to deserve or earn. 

Christ walked the earth as a man for 33 years before submitting himself to the Cross so that the promise of Christmas would be fulfilled. Christmas is about love. No pandemic or oppositional social rhetoric can diminish the power of Christmas in faithful hearts.

COVID REMINDS US THAT WE NEED A SAVIOR

Christmas is the gift of eternal relationship between a Father and His children.  The gift is not peace among men, but peace between a Holy God and sinful men and women. This gift of peace is possible because of an infant born in a lowly stable who grew up to become the Savior of the world.

The fear of pandemic and worldly influences continue to chip away at the spirit of Christmas based on tradition, but the miracle of Christmas is unassailable. Covid reminds us that we still need a savior and that there is nothing to fear.

ETERNAL SECURITY — SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST

Christmas marks the entrance of Christ into the world. Calvary, the third act of Christmas, made it possible for men and women to walk the path leading to God.

Two lies confront us today,“More is better” and “Fear is stronger.” These lies suggest that more shopping, more food, more debt, more precautions, or greater isolation will somehow add up to enough. The lies suggest that somehow these reactions or excesses will somehow add up to security.

They will not. They cannot. Isolation promotes insecurity and creates vulnerability, not the reverse. 

Christ alone is enough; He alone is sufficient. No thing, person, or ideology can satisfy an empty or broken heart, spirit, home, or life the way the Gift of the Prince of Peace does.

“And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent…” — Taylor Caldwell

FREEDOM TO WORSHIP

This year, maybe freedom to worship with loved ones is enough because Christ is enough and enough is as good as a feast.

In the aftermath of society and cultural upheaval, is there still reason to rejoice? Absolutely!

Even if your eyes see the darkness falling across our communities and the world, and even while you lament the full measure of this flawed temporal reality, you can still come to the Lord with boundless gratitude and joy.

The Gift of reconciliation is yours. Christmas is an opportunity to gather family and friends in gratitude and joy. It is an opportunity to teach children, revere elders, to worship together. Tis the season to remember that even if your present circumstance is not one of material bounty or continued traditions, the Christ child walks beside you and lives within you.

UNCHANGING AND UNCHANGEABLE

The message of Christmas has not changed in 2000 years and will not change in another 10,000. Everyone chooses one of two paths, one leading to God and the other away from Him. 

Christmas begins with Christ because everything begins with Christ. But there’s more. There is a promise to you from God himself. There is a promise from God to your spouse and your son, your daughter and your neighbor. There is a promise from God to all who are not too progressive or evolved to receive it or believe it.

The promise begins with love. God’s Son came to earth on Christmas.  

CHRISTMAS CANNOT CHANGE

• No matter how corrupt a government, Christmas will come.
• No matter how inclement the weather, Christmas will come.
• No matter the pandemic news, Christmas will come.
• No matter the dithering among family members, Christmas will come.
• No matter ANYTHING, Christmas will come.

Christmas already came. What you celebrate today is the anniversary of the moment when God fulfilled His promise.

• Christ was the Promise.
• He is the Promise.
• The Promise was made.
• The Promise was kept.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.—Luke 2:10

PANDEMICS BOW TO CHRISTMAS

The world, the flesh, and the devil can’t change the fact, the history, and the truth of Christmas. Every knee, shadow, and pandemic must bow before the Lord Jesus Christ. Soft green leaves will appear in the spring, playful lambs will play in summer fields, and your eternity is still in safe hands.

Pandemics have no eternal power.  This year as in every year past, God calls us to love His Son and to love one another the way He loves us.

Keep Christmas in your heart today and every day. Be the face of Christ in Christmas to those you love by sharing the power and accomplished work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will take it from there.