While Luke’s account of the Christmas story provides us with several examples of Dangerous Distractions, it also provides us with the real meaning of Christmas–God’s Design for our Deliverance.
The Old Testament is full of prophesies that the Messiah would come–that God would provide a way for man to be delivered from the bondage of sin. As the song says, “Long lay the world/in sin and error pining/til He appeared and the soul felt His worth. A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices/for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”
So many people alive at that time, however–just like so many people alive today–chose to remain weary in sin and error, choosing to ignore that indeed it was “the night of our dear Savior’s birth.”
God designed a plan for sinful man to be delivered from sin and to have the opportunity to choose to spend eternity with Him. He had been providing advance notice of that plan for generations. And yet almost no one, as we will see over the next few entries in the blog, took any notice of this event.
If the Distance to the Destination, the Details of the Day, or the Demands of our Duties keep us from seeing God’s Design for our Deliverance then we too will miss the true meaning of Christmas. Our celebrations and parties and singing will all be for naught, it will all be meaningless and hollow with no significance beyond the pleasure of the moment. In the midst of a dark and sinful world, much of which is intent on denying the Reason for the Season, do not fall victim to the Dangerous Distractions! Remember the true message of Christmas! If you keep Christ at the center, I suspect you just might find that you have the opportunity to share that message with someone else, too. After all, could there be a better or more appropriate way to celebrate Christmas than to show someone God’s Christmas Gift?
THINKING OUT LOUD 