“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).
Millions and millions of people are content without God in their lives. Theirs is false and fleeting contentment based on their immediate circumstances however ignorant they may seem to this reality. Day in and day out their mental and emotional well-being is determined by how comfortable they feel. When there is enough money to buy what they need, the bills are manageable, no one in their familial circle is sick, and pain and suffering is the lot of others, the godless go about their daily routines proud of themselves and comfortably numb to the tragic plight of their own souls. The tragedy of this illusionary godlessness is that it is the very deception of Satan. Consider Paul’s warning in 2 Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The “little g-god of this world” referenced is Satan.
A popular movie that shows up each December is “A Christmas Carol.” One scene is unforgettable. The Ghost of Christmas Past pays a very disturbing and uncomfortable visit to Ebenezer Scrooge. Clearly, the old miser is shaken by the subsequent journey and revelation. However, does he take the message to heart? Does the truth he discovered about himself lead to life transformation? No. He simply dismisses it by saying, “Bah, humbug, it wasn’t real.” In a similar way, every person needs to face, accept, and act upon two truths: the truth about themselves and the truth about Jesus Christ.
The certain message of the Bible is that all people stand in either one of two positions with God—saved or lost. We are either saved by grace through faith in Jesus as Ephesians 2:8-9 dictates, or we are damned in our sins as assured in John 3:18. We are either adopted sons and daughters of God, or we are enemies of God. This truth is hard and unwelcomed by the unregenerate mind and heart but necessary for the saving of the soul. The Bible is not silent on defining and describing God’s enemies. According to James 4:4, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” The referenced world is the system of evil with all of its bells and whistles, attractions and temptations, that is directed and empowered by Satan. This sinful evil permeates every facet of society and works to undercut and stifle God’s work on Earth. Those people who partake of and enjoy the sinful pleasures of the world are, in fact, enemies of God.
From Romans 5:10, we learn: “If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” This reinforces that, before we were redeemed by faith in Jesus believing in His death on the cross in our place, we were God’s enemies. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:3: “We too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Before having Christ as Lord, the person is, simply put, committed to the wrath of God. Why? Because he has not believed in Christ as Lord and, therefore, he is the enemy of God.
Yet, the heart of God is to save, from eternal damnation in Hell, the very people who are His enemies. According to 1 Timothy 2:4, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Apostle Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” From 1 John 4:14, we are told that “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” Never forget 1 John 2:2, which references Jesus: “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:10, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
This Christmas countless millions of people will have family gatherings, open presents, and celebrate Christmas in a festive, holiday fashion without once really stopping to ponder the real reason for Christmas—their own sin and estrangement from God that comes with the sentence of eternal damnation in Hell under the severe wrath of God. Moreover, God’s indescribable love that causes Him to love them, even while they are His enemies. That love led God to come in the form of the man, Jesus, in a most unusual, unexpected way—as a baby born in a stable in Bethlehem.
Is it not ironic that at the time of the first Christmas, the big news of the day was focused on Roman taxation, while a young, Jewish woman named Mary held in her arms the greatest news the world has ever known, the Son of God, the God-Man, the Savior of the World? While a world full of sinners slithered along in reckless rebellion against God, He came into the very world He created in order to die a cruel death on a cross to pay the penalty owed by a world full of God’s enemies, so they would have the opportunity to repent of sin, believe in God who became flesh, Jesus, trust Him as Lord, and be rescued from eternal damnation. Romans 5:8 turns out to be the best news we could hear: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
So, my friends, Christmas is not at all what most of the world recognizes. It is not a mushy, feel-good, adorable story about a baby in a manger, a holiday from work, and an occasion to eat, drink, and be merry. Christmas is about world of people in sinful rebellion against their Creator, enemies of God, headed for eternal punishment in Hell being rescued by God. Never forget that on the other side of that beloved manger in Bethlehem was the bloody cross on Golgotha Hill. Jesus came to die for you and me and suffer the wrath of God against our sin for us. As we are told in Galatians 4:4-5, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
May each of us join the heavenly choir in singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Jesus did not come to bring peace to the whole world but only to those with whom He is pleased. So, the question to ponder, my friend, is: are you pleasing to God? Not until you sincerely repent of your sins, truly believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection for you, and completely surrender your life and take Him to be Lord. This, my friends, is the real meaning of Christmas. This is what makes Christmas merry. This is what makes Christmas the ideal time to come to peace with God the only way He allows—through deep, heart-wrenching, heart-changing faith in Jesus Christ.