THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". We read this verse a little differently this Christmas. We look at the word "peace" and our hearts sigh. We wonder about the future of  "good will toward men." We feel the longing for something in our hearts -- a longing for what made the angels rejoice as they said these words, and the shepherds stand in amazement as they heard them.

We feel a longing for Jesus -- perhaps more than ever before. We feel this longing as we fall to our knees this holiday season. But we are not brought to our knees in the way anyone expected. We kneel not before other nations… and not out of fear...

We kneel before a manger that holds the Savior of the world. We remember once again how much we need Him, how He is our foundation and our strength.

We kneel before a cross. We see how much He loves us, and how He is unafraid of suffering and sin.

We kneel before an empty tomb. We realize anew how He conquered death and darkness -- how He has made us victorious forever no matter what happens. Yet even as we kneel, we know that Christmas will be different. There are many who will be missed as we gather together with those we love.

There is a feeling that things will never be the same. It is this feeling that causes us to cling even tighter to the promise that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever". The Meaning of Christmas will never change because the Meaning of Christmas is Christ. So we can still proclaim with the angels, no matter what the situation,  "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men".

-- Unknown, from a SOUND BITES subscriber in Wisconsin


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