But who can endure the day of His coming. . .? So I will come to put you on trial. . . – Mal. 3:2, 5
Americans have religious faith . . . sort of. A 2009 survey by Parade magazine found that 69 percent of Americans believe in God, 77 percent pray outside of religious services, and 75 percent believe parents should give children a religious upbringing. But 50 percent rarely or never attend worship services, and 24 percent labeled themselves “spiritual but not religious.” Only 12 percent identified their own religion as the one true faith, while 59 percent said all religions are valid.
If this says anything it is this: Americans are confused about God. And if Americans are confused there, they will also be confused about the real meaning of Christmas.
The days before Christmas can be a tiring season of preparation, planning, shopping, and wrapping. But I think as we prepare for the Christmas celebrations, dinners, travel, and gift giving, it's equally important that we pause and prepare our souls for Christmas.
Let me be blunt: We oftentimes romanticize the Christmas story way more than we should. We easily forget that the bigger purpose behind Bethlehem was Calvary. The purpose of the manger was realized in the horrors of the cross. The purpose of his birth was his death.
Or to put it more personally: Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner. The incarnation reminds us of my desperate condition before a holy God. We all stand to be judged! And with this in mind, one thing about Christmas is never really talked about, and that is: “Christmas is very disturbing!”
Any real understanding of the Christmas message will disturb anyone to the core. So many people who ignore God and His Church start to have religious feelings about this time of the year. They feel they ought to. So they make their way to one of several Christmas programs. And when they go, they come away feeling vaguely warmed or at least better for having gone, but not disturbed.
Why aren't people disturbed by Christmas? Here is the reason: We keep Jesus in the manger. We forget that Jesus came to be on the cross. It was there that the wrath of the Father was poured out onto His Son for our sins. God’s holy justice had to be dealt with. Jesus was born to suffer and die as our substitution enduring the horrors of Calvary.
But we don’t like to talk about sin at this time of the year. And we don’t like to hear any message that reminds us of God’s judgment. So we come up with programs that keep Jesus in the manger, while never going all the way to the real purpose of why He was born in the first place – i.e. He was destined to die on the cross!
You see, when Jesus was born, He was appointed by God to be either a Savior or a Judge. Because of His birth, people will spend an eternity in hell. He is a most threatening person. As long as we can keep Him in the manger, and feel the sentimental feelings we have for babies, Jesus doesn't disturb us. But once we understand that His coming means for every one of us either salvation or condemnation, He disturbs us deeply.
Now don’t misunderstand, we ought to celebrate the birth of Christ. But please don’t keep Jesus in a manger as a harmless baby. Jesus is our sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He was born to take upon His body my hell that I so much deserved.
That baby was born so that "he who had no sin" would become "sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). The baby's destiny from the moment of his conception was hell—hell in the place of sinners. When I look into the manger, I come away shaken as I realize again that he was born to pay the unbearable penalty for my sins.
That's the message of Christmas: God reconciled the world to himself through Christ (2 Cor. 5:19), man's sin has alienated him from God, and man's reconciliation with God is possible only through faith in Christ…Christmas is disturbing.
The purpose of Christ's birth was to live a sinless life, suffer as our substitute on the cross, satisfy the wrath of God, defeat death, and secure our forgiveness and salvation.
Christmas is about God the Father (the offended party) taking the initiative to send his only begotten son to offer his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, so that we might be forgiven for our many transgressions.
Again, don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a time of celebration. It is also a time of repentance, deep inner mourning, and fear, oh yes, fear that if I keep Jesus in the manger and go away with sentimental feelings that one gets from beholding a baby, I will miss the message of Christmas and become worse off as a result.
The real message of Christmas is very disturbing!
