Unto Us a Child is Born

She wasn't from this country. She was a Jewish convert. "What's all this stuff about Christmas?" she asked. "I worship Yeshua, my Savior. Why all this stuff about His birthday, wise men, angels, shepherds? Seems like a waste of time." Interesting question.

Christmas is important to me. Not December 25th as much as the fact that He came, that He was born. His arrival is as important to me as the end of His ministry, His death and resurrection. Partly because He came. We needed that. Partly because He came as a child. Lest we forget, we needed that, too. Partly because His arrival was the glorious collision of many prophesies regarding the coming Messiah. All at once. The virgin birth. The place. The lowly nature of it. The events. All of it.

I suppose, however, that the birth of Christ is important to me because of the distance He traveled, so to speak. Remember, He was "in the form of God" (Phil 2:6). He didn't think it was something He had to cling to. Instead, He "emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Phil 2:7). If that isn't staggering, you aren't paying attention. From the Almighty to that tiny baby born that first Christmas. Born not only to be human, but to humble Himself further to that ultimate end of death on my behalf.

"Unto us a child is born," Isaiah wrote (Isa 9:6). Any rational being would have considered that foolhardy, a colossal mistake on the part of God the Father. He placed His Son in our hands. But this one is called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." And He humbled Himself even to death on the cross. For me. And you.

"What's all this stuff about Christmas?" she asked. That. That right there. I don't like the tinsel and commercialism and the banning of Christ from Christmas. (I mean, what's the point of "Merry mas"?) But I love it for what it truly represents -- my salvation.