Why do we celebrate Christmas? Christmas is fun. Opening gifts is fun. Visiting family and friends is fun. Eating cookies and candy is fun. Is this why we celebrate Christmas?
On the first Christmas, the shepherds did not have gifts, friends, and candy. They were tired and hungry from working hard all day. At night there was more work to do. They took turns staying awake to watch the sheep. Were the shepherds excited when they saw the angel? No. The shepherds were afraid. They wondered why the sky was so bright and why God had sent an angel to them. Had they done something wrong? The shepherds were so afraid and there was no place to hide.
But when the angel said that Jesus had been born, the shepherds knew this was the best news they had ever heard. God had promised to send the Messiah-King and now He was here. When the angel invited the shepherds to come and meet Jesus, they knew this was an imitation from God. God wanted them to know Jesus.
God wants us to know Jesus, too. This is why He tells us all about Jesus in His Word. The Bible tells us about God’s love. It tells us of God’s plan to send Jesus into the world. God wants us to know why Jesus was born. At Christmas God invites us to meet Jesus.
There is so much to look forward to as Christmas gets closer. Opening gifts, visiting family and eating candy is fun. But Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth and Jesus is the greatest gift of all.
Christmas is coming. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
– Barbara Reaoch, ‘Why Christmas?‘