Happy Birthday, Jesus!

As I reflect upon the birth of Christ, I think about what it is I truly celebrate. I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. It is not like any other day, any other meal, any other gathering...it is the birth of the Savior I celebrate. It is Him I prepare my heart for. It is He that I plan to spend all eternity with. While I do enjoy the lights, the gatherings, the food, and the people, I have to admit that NONE of it means a thing. But, Jesus-Emmanual-God with us means everything.

What do we need to celebrate Christmas?
A Tree?
Lights on the house?
A ham and all the fixin's?
Presents?
Money?

What if none of that was available? What then?

We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. So it seems to me that all we really need is Jesus. Yet what do we really celebrate if we chase everything but Him? Are we so busy that we forget to celebrate what we intend to? Do we let relatives, traditions, or general busyness interfere or dictate what we celebrate?

Close your eyes for a minute and think about Christmas. What's the first thing that pops into your memory? For me it's Jesus, in a manger, born of the Virgin Mary in a stable in Bethlehem. It is all about the miracle of hope. It's about Jesus. I could have no lights, tree, decorations, or gatherings. Simply for me, I just need to spend the day with Jesus.

He is what I celebrate at Christmas.

As I listened to our Pastor read Scripture during communion on Christmas Eve, I found myself in tears.

Matthew 26:26
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

Those words pierced me as I held the communion wafer in my hand. There were 1500 people at our Christmas Eve service and each piece of bread/each wafer/for each person present, Jesus was broken and we all had a piece of Him (in a sense). He died so we each could find salvation in Him. That just broke my heart to know that for each of us present in church that evening, His body had been broken for. That is a lot of breaking.

Me.
My kids.
The person sitting next to me.
The person sitting clear at the other end of the room.
Each of us, Christ died and was broken for us.

And then I thought about the entire world.
Jesus was sacrificed for each one of us in this entire world!
I just thought in my head about his body, being broken and a piece of Him being given to each person in the world and it just became astounding.

Christ died for us all. And I know we know that, but when you think about how one man's body could be broken and given to all (re-read the passage and it's context), it defines Christmas as nothing like an ordinary holiday. It is not! It is a miracle! A tiny baby born in a manger. No glitz. No glamour. No accommodations. A baby born so that we could ALL find salvation. He knew his body would be broken for us all. It's Jesus' birthday, yet how easily that is forgotten!

Not every person in family circles has Him in their lives. And those who aren't active followers of Christ are more focused on the glitz, glamour, and the endless chaos that accompanies Christmas. But for the people who are Christ-followers, it is more important to celebrate Jesus' birthday, the freedom He has brought us, and realize just how much He has done for us, because of WHO he is and WHY He was sent.

So, on this very day, in my living room from Hutchinson, Kansas, I just want to say once again..."Happy Birthday, Jesus! YOU are my King, my Savior, and I love you more than I could ever speak. Thank you. God with us!!! YOU are the reason I celebrate-not just today, but every day. The purchase price of my freedom, eternity, and ever lasting life was your blood. Your broken body purchased me, and you have given me more than I could ever deserve. But by our Father's grace and mercy, I have been saved by you. Jesus, the Messiah, I love you."

Amen...