What if we didn't have Christmas?

Have you ever taken the time to think of the fact of why we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25? What if that were not a reality, and Jesus had not been born in Bethlehem? I want you to ponder what our lives today might be like.

If we did not have Christmas, we would not be saying, “Merry Christmas” to one another. We may only be stuck with the possibility of a “happy holiday.”

It is because we can say “Merry Christmas” that we can sing carols like “Joy to the World, “Silent Night, Holy Night” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” The wonderful “Hallelujah Chorus” would not be in existence if Jesus had not been born of a virgin to become our Savior. He was born as prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Immanuel means “God with us.” That prophecy was fulfilled by the birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke 2. The angels declared, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” The shepherds came and worshiped at his birth. We experience being born again by accepting him as our savior.

If Christ had not been born, would we have a date on the calendar for Christmas? Would you and I have good news to share with one another that our sins can be forgiven and we can have hope for the future? Would we believe in miracles today if Jesus had not been born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for your sin and mine and was resurrected from the dead on that first Easter morning? I don’t think so.

It is because Jesus came that you and I can truly have peace, we can have goodwill toward all men. We experience grace and mercy and the reality of his presence in our lives today because he came. He is our “Bread of Life,” our mediator, and our very present help in time of need and he wants to be our best friend. His love will never diminish for us because he is God with us.

What if we didn’t have the Christ of Christmas? We would be lost without hope in this world with no possibility of redemption and no hope of eternal life in heaven with Jesus.

The good news is: we do have Christmas and we worship Jesus, the Christ of Christmas.

This article was written on behalf of the Moses Lake Christian Ministerial Association.