“Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man.”
Is it any surprise then that the daily news is filled with endless stories of violence, hatred, poverty, greed, injustice, pollution, addictions, broken relationships, betrayal, illness, and death? There is something in each of us that knows we are broken and incomplete on our own. Our fallen, broken state is further evidenced by the fact that we collectively spend millions of dollars on self-help books, therapy, the latest elixirs, fads, new cars, new wardrobes, new relationships, or even drugs, trying to figure out a way to “fix” ourselves. The sad truth is that there are no human or earthly remedies for our condition, and we can spend most of our lives in denial of this reality, jumping from one quick fix to another, trying to fill the empty void in our hearts that only our Creator can fill.
But because God created us in His very own image, He endowed us with the ability to appreciate the amazing beauty and intelligence of His creation and to have a desire and hope for a better future. He also endowed within us a deep capacity for love, and a desire to see things be made right in the world. In an attempt to make the world a better place, we humans engage in a multitude of noble efforts to save the planet, to end injustice, to end poverty, to bring about world peace, etc. And yet, the beautiful scripture tells us that because, as a human race, we collectively live in this continual state of hostility towards our Creator, denying His place in our lives, our sin condition is chronic and fatal, and any attempts to fix ourselves or our world are ultimately doomed to fail.
Once we make the decision to put our faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation, God then adopts us into His eternal family where we become sons and daughters of the Most High God. With this spiritual adoption also comes the rights and privileges of the inheritance that He has promised to His children, as well as the free gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit then regenerates us by causing us to be spiritually reborn, or born again, and He helps us to live for God. We all have a desire to rise above the ordinary to distinguish ourselves. We want our lives to count for something bigger and greater than ourselves. Yet, there is a right way and a wrong way we can pursue this goal. God has essentially put a desire for eternity in our hearts. And when our minds are taken over by that truth, we start to live the true purpose of Christmas.
Where Are You Christmas? We have an eternity that awaits us