A Birth Worth Celebrating

Verse of the day: 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.

I have been reading a lot of posts, leading up to this day, questioning whether Christians should celebrate Christmas on December 25th, as day of Christ’s birth. I have heard the arguments and had occasion, while in college, to study the events. What I concluded a long time ago was that we, as followers of Christ, should spend less time majoring on the minors and focusing on what is most important about the holiday being observed today. I will begin by first pointing out what the Apostle Paul wrote in respect to celebrating holidays in Romans 14:4-10, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” In short, we have the liberty to celebrate Christmas on this date, if we so choose. What is most important is that we are celebrating the day unto the Lord, as we celebrate God’s love for us, and His willingness to come to us, born of a virgin, fully human and fully God, to lay down His life for us, who are so undeserving of His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness; for without His birth, there would be no death or resurrection, and thereby no gift of eternal life. So, before we begin to criticize those of us who do celebrate this wonderful time of year, let us stop and consider that rather than waste the holiday arguing about whether we should be celebrating it or not, we focus on using this day as an opportunity to tell the world about the Greatest Gift ever given to man…Jesus Christ, whose name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). May we all have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord, Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords!

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).