Merry Christmas!

I won't be posting regularly this week, but wanted to wish everyone in blogland a Merry (or if you're in England a Happy) Christmas!

Here are some quick thoughts on the significance of Christmas:

1. Christmas is God's love for the world.
For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son... Jesus came to earth because God loves us. As Steve deNeff put it, God would have come to earth even if Adam hadn't sinned. He likes to be with us.

2. Christmas is the beginning of our salvation.
... that whoever believes in him will not perish. The Word became flesh and dwelled among us... The law came through Moses. Grace ... came through Jesus Christ.

3. Christmas is the supreme revelation of God.
Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The Bible is God's word in the sense of human words. But Jesus is the Word of God par excellence. Jesus is the supreme revelation of who God is, a revelation that is more powerful and fundamental than human words could represent.

4. Christmas shows God's identification with our pain.
In Luke's gospel especially, Jesus' birth is the embodiment of good news to the poor, the oppressed, those whom evil has tormented in a material way.

5. Christmas models how we are to live together.
Regardless of the original meaning, Christians see in the Philippian hymn a picture of the incarnation: Although Christ existed in the form of God, he did not consider that equality with God something to exploit, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. So we are to live together, not as more and less powerful individuals but as servants who consider others better than yourself.

6. Christmas anticipates the kingdom of God.
In Matthew's gospel especially, Jesus' birth is revealed to be the birth of a king. The wise men give the gifts of a king, and Herod the king fears that his rule is in danger. When Christ returns a second time to earth, he will set the world right.