Do you know who the true meaning of Christmas is?
Knowing who is the true meaning and knowing the True Meaning of Christmas will transform your life . .
Today is December 24th and we’re one day away from Christmas Day. There are traffic jams all over Trinidad and our shopping malls are packed to overflowing. Everyone is rushing here, rushing there, painting their homes, buying new furniture, buying lots of gifts and groceries and a whole host of other things.
For many this season is known as the season of good cheer; for some the holiday season. But is it just a holiday? What is the significance of Christmas Day compared to other non-Christian holidays? Is Christmas important? Do I understand what Christmas is all about? The response to these questions should lie in the subheading above. Some of you may have thought that there was a typo error there by me writing who the true meaning of Christmas is, but there is no typo there as the true meaning of Christmas is not a thing but rather a person.
As I drive through the streets of Port of Spain, I cannot help but notice the heightened stress level of many. People rushing here and rushing there to buy a last-minute gift. Rushing to buy new curtains or paint the house. Rushing to buy lots of groceries. Come Christmas Day, many will be far too tired to really appreciate let alone remember what it is all about. That is so unfortunate that such a beautiful season goes by and all many would have gotten out of it would be a badly damaged or broken bank account.
So if Christmas is not all of these things, if Christmas is not making Sorrel or making black fruit cake or baking ham and buying gifts; if Christmas is not getting a fresh set of curtains or painting the house and all these other so-called Christmas activities – which mind you are not bad things, then what is Christmas really?
Please, let me indulge your imagination for a while. Imagine a world where we are eternally caught in the mistakes that we make. Imagine a world where our hurts and heartaches last for eternity and we never experienced them being healed. Imagine a world where every bad thing said or done to us wound us over and over again. Imagine a world where we make mistakes, we say the wrong things, we do the wrong things, we hurt others and we are eternally caught in those mistakes. Imagine a world where we continue to drift further and further away from peace, from happiness, from joy, from God. This is how the world would have been if it were not for Christmas.
Thank God we do not have to live in such a world because the Savior has come and he is Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank God we do not have to be caught in an eternal spiral of our sins. Thank God we do not have to drift further and further away from peace, from joy, from happiness, from our Heavenly Father’s Love. Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary -whose birth we celebrate at Christmas – came to forgive our sins so that we do not have to drift further and further into darkness. Jesus the Light of the world has come so that we no longer have to remain in the darkness and the loneliness of sin. He came that we may be healed, healed from every hurt and heartache that we may experience. He came that we may more than just exist in this world but rather that we may have an abundance of life – life in Him. He came that we may experience true joy, true peace, true love. All of this is possible if we trust and obey him; if we follow him, and give our lives to him.
If this sounds like you, and you do not know how to move from where you are, talk to God and tell Him what is on your heart. Your prayer can be as simple as:
Dear God, I do not know you nor Jesus your Son. But I want my life to be better. I want my life to be filled with all the blessings you have for me. Help me to know you and your son Jesus. Help me to change. Help me to be better.
Pray this simple prayer from the depth of your heart and God will hear you. I will also strongly suggest talking to a Catholic Priest.
Many, many years ago in a little insignificant town of Bethlehem, God sent his Son Jesus into the world to be the savior of the world. Prophets from many centuries past foretold his coming. He was to be the Messiah, the Wonder-Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, the One to save His people from their sins. He came specifically for that purpose, to save us from our sins. Yes he healed the sick, yes he gave sight to the blind, yes he caused the lame to walk, yes he caused the dumb to talk, yes he raised people from the dead, but more importantly, he came to save us from our sins. He came to make sure that we would not be eternally caught in the mistakes that we make. He came to make sure that we did not have to live our whole lives in guilt from the sins of our past and from the mistakes that we have made. That is why Jesus the Savior of the world came. That is why we celebrate Christmas.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you came into this world that we all may have life and have it abundantly. We pray for the conversion of hearts that we will turn our hearts, our minds all over to you so that you and you alone will live, and move, and have your being in us. Bring us O Lord into a deeper experience of Your Love and Your Mercy. Open the Eyes of our hearts to see you as you really are, and your Son Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and with grateful hearts, grant us the grace always abide in that Christmas Spirit, not just at this time of the year but throughout our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior.
Amen!
