Spiritual Revival Through the Joy of Christmas!

The Affliction

Year after year we celebrate Christmas in our own traditional ways. This usually involves a great number of preparations and chores which have become burdens because our focus is on the celebration and not in our love for the one being celebrated. For example, if you were a childless couple who prayed for years for a child and one day your prayers were answered with the birth of a beautiful and healthy child, you would then hold a magnificent celebration produced from your love for the gracious gift of this child. Unfortunately, this spirit behind the significance for the celebration for Christmas has been lost. Only a few generations past, a majority of people were steeped in Christian teaching concerning the Holy Infant, the Nativity, and the birth of the promised Messiah. They were able to grasp the significance of Christmas. Much of this has been lost as modern society has moved from the faith and has embraced secular beliefs. Apart from the Gospel story and the biblical narrative, Christmas is nothing more than a merchandizing enterprise. Instead of experiencing the true joy of Christmas, people now experience a shallow materialistic Christmas filled with anxiety as they race to complete their shopping, vacation plans, and other preparations before Christmas day.

In light of all this, the birthday Child has been forgotten. All the decorations are up, the feasts are prepared, the gifts are under the tree, the guests are all gathered together–and the celebrations take place but very few remember the Holy Infant. Imagine if your family held a birthday party for you and didn’t think of inviting you, and worse, they had a great celebration without you! This illustrates the state of Christmas for many in our modern age. A celebration of Christmas without the newborn Christ can satisfy the belly and the ego, but it does nothing for the spirit. A Christless Christmas is what the pagan unbeliever celebrates each year. It also what many Christians who have lost their first love celebrate, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love,” (Rev. 2:4). It is through the sacrifice of Christ that you have been saved and when you accepted Him as your savior, He became the center of your life. This is how Christ became your first love, but now the worries of the world and the neglect of your faith have caused you to abandon Him. There is no place set in your celebration and at your table for your first love, the birthday child–Christ the Savior. The unbeliever notices no difference in Christmas celebrations year after year, because none of them include Christ. The believer feels the void and experiences a spiritual emptiness, because the Savior, who is Christ the Lord is absent.

The Good News

In the opening image and quote, we read about the good news that was given to the shepherds in the fields announcing the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah through the birth of Christ the Lord in the town of Bethlehem. An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to the shepherds, and he pronounced to them the good news of the birth of the Savior, who the angel identified as Christ the Lord. He then told them that they would find the baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem. When the angel finished his announcement, a multitude of angels joined the first angel and praised God. After praising God, the angels vanished and returned to heaven. The shepherds astonished at what they had just witnessed, raced to Bethlehem where they found the holy Child in the manger. After worshipping Him, the shepherds returned to the fields where they proceeded in glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen. The Scriptures do not elaborate on how long or the way that they glorified and praised God, but it can be concluded that their hearts were filled with joy because they just witnessed a magnificent display of the heavenly host and were among the first to meet the newborn King.

Add to this, the prophecy concerning His birth given to the Magi, (the wise men from the east). These men were prophetic seers from a nation in the east who were given a divine prophecy concerning the birth of the King of the Jews. They were guided by the Star of Bethlehem until it stopped directly over the location of the child. When the Magi found the infant Jesus, they rejoiced with great joy and worshipped Him. They celebrated His birth with the offering of their gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh.

The Scriptures display a pattern among those who saw and witnessed the presence of the newborn King–they all rejoiced, praised, and worshipped Him with great joy. The practice of gift giving and the celebration of the birth of Christ was also established. This practice flows from the words of the angel of the Lord, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,“ (Luke 2:10). In these words, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” (Luke 2:11), we find the Good News that is the source for the joy of Christmas. It is also these words and everything that they mean for salvation that brings great joy, praise, and glory.

The Remedy

The joy of Christmas does not come from the gifts and celebrations–but rather the gifts and celebrations are expressions of the joy of Christmas. The birth of Christ the Savior, who came into the world over two-thousand years ago as a newborn child is the reason for the joy that refreshes the spirit and fans the embers of the heart which burn for the love of God and for His grace. It is because of this joy that we increase our enjoyment by sharing it with others by exchanging gifts, being charitable, feasting, blessing others, and bringing good cheer to all. Only by possessing a childlike faith and full dependance on God will you be able to experience the joy of the Christmas gift. To possess the gift of Christ, and to experience the bliss of the Holy Spirit in your life is truly the real joy of Christmas!

Spiritual Fulfillment and Passion in the Risen Lord

There is another joy that can be added to the celebration of the birth of Christ, and that is the felt presence of the Lord at your table. Those who witnessed the newborn Savior celebrated the fulfillment of the promised Messiah. His birth looked forward to His ministry, which would include His suffering, death, and resurrection. We can now look back to His ministry and add this to our celebration. Our Lord has risen and now reigns from His heavenly throne, which gives us comfort and added joy knowing that His work of redemption has been completed. And now that He is risen, His presence is with those who love Him and are in Union with Him through faith. If we celebrate His birth in true faith, acknowledge the truth as presented in Scripture, and if we reserve a place at our table for Him, then He will be present with us. What is it to experience the presence of the risen Lord? Scripture gives us a taste of His presence as experienced by the two witnesses who were among the first to speak to the resurrected Christ, (Luke 24:13-35).

“But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight, They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

(Luke 24:29-32)

These men encountered the risen Lord as they walked to the town of Emmaus following His resurrection. He joined them as they walked but they were not able to recognize Him. He explained the Scriptures to them and then joined them for dinner. As He spoke their hearts burned within them. Though, at the time they did not know He was the risen Lord, His divine presence caused their spirits to burn with passion.

In summary, the remedy to a materialistic and shallow Christmas celebration is to remember your first love–Christ. Remember His birth on this day and make it the focus of the celebration. Remember the joy of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi as they experienced the birth of the newborn Christ who was the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords wrapped in swaddling cloths, “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger,” (Luke 2:12). Remember that the newborn Savior is now the risen Lord who has promised to come to you and make His home with you. Remember all these things and celebrate His birth with great joy, worship, praise, and heartfelt passion!