Across
Pacific Magazine
The Meaning of Christmas
By Billy Graham
What
does
Christmas mean to you? In answering that question, we might first
consider what
Christmas meant to some of the people who were involved in the
Christmas story.
First, there was Joseph. He was contracted to marry Mary, and
in that
time, being engaged was about the same as being married. I think that
we give
too little attention to Joseph. He is called "a just man,"(1) which
means that he obeyed the will of God, and it includes the meaning of
sympathy
and kindness, and it indicated his devotion to God and to Mary.
When Joseph found that his wife-to-be was with child, he could have
called her
ugly names. He could have exposed her to the public. She might have
been
stoned. But he didn't because the angel had come to him in a dream,
telling
him, "Fear not! This Child that Mary will have is to be the Son of the
Most High."(2) What faith it took on Joseph's part to believe and to
trust!
Second, there was Mary. She was a young woman probably no older
than age
16, and she had tremendous faith. Gabriel, the herald of God, announced
to her,
"Blessed art thou among women. … Thou hast found favor with God."(3)
What kind of favor did she find? What were the results of it?
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"God has given us the
marvelous ability to choose to die in Christ and go to heaven, or to
choose to die out of Christ and go to hell. It's up to us to make that
choice."
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Many of us today would be reluctant to claim it. Mary would go on a
long and
wearing journey to a small town. The pains of childbirth would come
upon her in
a stable. There would be the long trip to Egypt
and the
return to Nazareth,
there
would be the long years of obscurity and poverty. And her Son would be
crucified on a Roman cross. That was the favor of God upon Mary.
And Mary bore a cross too because she followed the Savior, her Son.
And to follow Him we too must carry a cross. Maybe you are suffering
the loss
of a loved one, or the ending of a courtship that broke your heart, or
financial reverses, or something in school. Whatever it is, it might be
the
favor of God on your life, because God is sovereign, and nothing
happens to
believers by accident.
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"Mary's first great test was
the Baby in her womb. She was not yet fully married. What would people
say? What would they think?"
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When disappointments and heartbreaks come, they could be the favor of
God -- a
stepping-stone to a greater involvement with Christ and a greater
surrender to
Him. God's favor for a person may be bestowed not by affluence but by a
great
challenge when faith is put to a costly test.
Mary's first great test was the Baby in her womb. She was not yet fully
married. What would people say? What would they think?
The same Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary overshadows you when you
repent of
your sins and receive Christ as your Savior. Jesus said, "You must be
born
again if you are to see the Kingdom
of God."(4)
The Bible says, "The wind bloweth where it listeth."(5) You can't see
the wind blow, and that's the same in the new birth. You can't see it
happen --
it happens by the Holy Spirit.
Third, there were the angels and their gladness. The Bible says
that the
angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents.(6) And today, at
this
Christmas season, one person coming to Christ will cause the angels to
rejoice.
Fourth, there were the shepherds. They were not ordinary
shepherds. They
were the lowest of the low of the shepherds. They were the ones who
were
assigned to watch over the sheep that were to be sacrificed in the Temple.
And Old
Testament sacrifices looked forward to the coming of the Lamb of God
who was to
be slain, and that had been planned from the foundation of the world.
When the shepherds saw a big light and heard the angels, the shepherds
were
afraid. But the angel said, "Fear not."(7) Four times in the
Christmas story we read, "Fear not."(8)
And today our world is trembling with fear. All around the world people
are
fearful of terrorist attacks. The entire free world is under attack by
both a
physical enemy and a spiritual enemy. And if ever there was a time for
us to
get right with God, it is now. If ever there was a time to say, "Fear
not!
God reigns! God is sovereign! God has a plan!" it is now. In the book
of
Isaiah God says, "I made you. I redeemed you. Fear not. I'll be with
you
through the waters. I'll be with you in the times of trouble."(9) If we
are faithful to God, He will be with us.
Fifth, there were the people in the world. This Christmas we
cannot help
but think of the people who are suffering horrific catastrophes and
those who
are living under oppression. We cannot help but think of people who are
starving and those who are overwhelmed by poverty.
I remember, as a child, that when I would leave food on my plate --
especially
spinach -- my mother would say, "Eat it all! Remember the starving in China."
And I always wondered how I could get that spinach over to China!
But there is something to that notion. We need to share the blessings
that God
has given us. And that's what Christmas carries with it -- the idea of
sharing
with others.
And one of the greatest needs that people in the world have is to be
loved. One
man said, "We cannot practice in our country the gifts of the Holy
Spirit,
like preaching, but we can bear the fruit of the Spirit."(10) The Bible
says, "Against such there is no law."(11) There is no law anywhere in
the world that says we can't love the person we work with, or live
near, or the
person of another race. Many people today are looking for love -- true
love.
What does Christmas mean to you this year?
I pray that it will mean the Person of Jesus Christ and what He did for
us.
Jesus didn't come to be born; He came to die on the cross for us. His
death was
planned before the foundation of the world.
And when He was dying on the cross, God laid on Him your sins and mine.
Because
of that, God can say to us, "I forgive you. I forgive you." If you
ask God to forgive your sin, you can know that you are ready to meet
God.
But there's another part of the Christmas story that speaks to us --
and it speaks
to us of death. Those sheep were destined for death, and they symbolize
the
death of Jesus Christ. He died for us. And we will die too. We are
going to die
in Christ, or out of Christ. When we die, we are going to heaven, or to
hell.
God has given us the marvelous ability to choose to die in Christ and
go to
heaven, or to choose to die out of Christ and go to hell. It's up to us
to make
that choice.
May God help you to choose Christ today.
