OUR RESPONSE TO JESUS

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV)

Jesus was a little baby born in Bethlehem, but He’s more than that! He was a preacher and a healer, but He’s more than that! He was the Savior nailed to the cross whispering forgiveness to the world, but He’s more than that! In the magnificent words of Paul, He is the image of the invisible God, the One through whom all things were made and in whom everything holds together. When we are overwhelmed by this vision of Jesus, our response can only be “Jesus, You are the One I want to love and follow.” 

-- Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant in “The Way of Transforming Discipleship”

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THE MAGI’S RESPONSE

“After [the Magi] had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts…” (Matthew 2:9-11 NIV)

They bowed down and worshipped Him. The Magi chose not to resist, not to ignore, but to worship. In fact, they had been choosing to worship Jesus ever since they saw that star in the east and started their trek towards Jerusalem and then the short distance on to Bethlehem. They’d been worshipping Him by giving Him their time, by giving Him their energy and, finally, by giving Him their wealth. That’s what worship is – giving your all, your life, to Jesus as you put your wallet, your calendar and your mind at His disposal.

These Magi knew the King of the Jews had been born. They sensed He was the divine Shepard-Ruler. They had a decision to make. Resist or ignore Jesus, or worship Him? Resist or ignore Jesus, or let Him be the Captain of their fates and the Master of their souls, and discover lasting strength security, and peace, on into eternity and death?

They worshipped Him.

And they found joy -- heart-swelling, deep down, spring-in-your-step joy… The Magi finish the first Christmas heading home, back to normality, with a new meaning and a new feeling – with joy that lasts, and that will never end. 

-- Carl Laferton in “Rescuing Christmas: The Search for Joy that Lasts”

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OUR SAVIOR AND BREAD OF LIFE

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty… I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’”  (John 6:35, 51 NIV)

Rejoice, you who feel that you are lost, your Savior comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer, you who are in prison, for He comes to set you free. You who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that He has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and He has come to be the Bread of Life to your souls. Rejoice, O sinners everywhere, for the restorer of the castaways, the Savior of the fallen, has come. 

-- C. H. Spurgeon in “Joy Born at Bethlehem” 

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ROOM FOR CHRIST

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”

One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them, but his inn was crowded; his hands were full; his mind was preoccupied. This is the answer that millions are giving today. Like a Bethlehem innkeeper, they cannot find room for Christ. All the accommodations in their hearts are already taken up by other crowding interests. Their response is not atheism. It is not defiance. It is preoccupation and the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without [Christ in their lives].

-- Billy Graham

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GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS

“Don’t be afraid!” [the angel] said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord -- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”  (Luke 2:10b-11 NLT)

Computers are amazing. I [remember discovering] Google Earth that connects to the Internet and begins with a digital picture of the earth on the screen. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can zoom in on a country. A few more clicks and you can zoom in on a state, on a city, on a neighborhood, on a street, and eventually, even on a house. The entire program was put together using data and pictures collected by satellites that orbit the earth. It is an amazing thing to start with the globe and slowly zoom in on virtually any location around the world.

Reading Christmas Day Scriptures is like Google Earth in reverse. We start a specific focus on an overcrowded inn, one with a small stable in the back where a birth is taking place. We back up a little further, and we discover all this is happening in a town called Bethlehem, not far from the outskirts of Jerusalem. A few more clicks and we realize that we are in Israel during the time of Roman occupation. A few more clicks and we see the entire globe affected by the events in the city of David; but in this case, there are a few more mouse clicks to go. With an additional click, we begin to cross more than geographical boundaries and see the world before Jesus' time, during Jesus' time, and stretching into the world of future generations to come. What took place in Bethlehem that first Christmas has global implications for all people, at all times, in all nations.

-- Kevin Baker in “Hail the Heaven Born”


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CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CHRIST?

"When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.”  (Luke 2:15-16)

Is it possible to have Christmas without Christ? I mean apart from the name; obviously you can’t spell the word Christmas without the name Christ. But I mean the event… the celebration… the holiday. Can you have Christmas without Christ as the focus?

As ludicrous as the question sounds, if you stand back and look at our society, it looks like that’s exactly what people are attempting to do. We pile up gifts and food and festivities and shopping and… more food and days off from work so high that it’s hard to find Christ in Christmas...

So it’s makes me wonder how many people could care less whether He came or not; whether they have a Christ for Christmas or not? So what if He didn’t come? What if the shepherds found an empty manger? They would have just gone back to their flock of sheep; but would it make a difference in your life?

Well, whether it would matter to you or not, and I hope it does, it would make all the difference to the whole world. A Christmas without Christ would mean that the Bible is false and the world would be lost. Which is why I am glad that the manger was not empty. There, born on that day in the City of David, was Christ the Lord. Our savior was born and He still lives. I have believed Him and received Him, and it has made all the difference for all of eternity.

I pray that this year, you won’t be having a Christmas without Christ. 

-- Rev. Eric Evans, excerpted from his blog http://blog.seeinggodeveryday.net.


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