CHRISTMAS: SAME STORY, DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

(7-minute read)

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS. Is it a folklore about a baby named Jesus who was born in a stable and laid in a makeshift crib from a manger? Surely, Jesus is not still living that we are celebrating His birthday. Except that it was not an ordinary story, about an ordinary baby born, who lived an ordinary purpose. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus is not only alive but He is the living Word that is active in our realities! For that reason, the nativity scenes that are displayed at Christmas must transform into relatable personal stories that continue to play out in our lives and our relationships all the time. We are ‘live’ theatres and not museums that showcase only memories of God. It is odd when ordinary believers like you and me invite people to see Christmas musicals and plays yet Jesus is not in the theatre of our everyday lives. This happens when we practice a faith in God that avoids risks, conflicts and heartaches, and when we live a life that is devoid of a healthy need for God and for each other.

In fact, the gifts that we give others at Christmas must be our demonstrable compassion, our convincing faith, and our commitment to the Word of God. Carols, lights and feasts are only nice-to-have embellishments at Christmas but they do not replace the true stories of God in our living. Some may say that they have outgrown indulgent gift-giving and the intensive shopping involved. So let’s understand what gifts are: they are tangible and personalized expressions of our love, and if done right, has the power to touch recipients in enduring ways. Intentional gifting is not cursory or obligatory, but curated with an intimate knowledge of Christ for the recipient.  

Jesus expects us to be big givers, pointedly when He said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-14). 

The Christmas story is always the same but how others experience it through us must always be relevant to them. How then can we become good gifts to the people around us this Christmas?

1.SHARE ABOUT THE GIVER AND THE GIFT

Author Max Lucado wrote, ‘If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior!” 

Today’s consumers are trained to look out for online sales that happen before Christmas, on dates like 10.10, 11.11 and 12.12. Christmas is another date but one that offers the greatest gift for mankind: the gift of salvation from eternal death, eternal hopelessness, eternal brokenness, and eternal sadness. It was planned with a specific timing as revealed in Galatians 4:4-5 (NLT), “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children.”

Jesus left the splendour and majesty of His home to come to earth and go through the humbling experience of gestation in the womb of a human. Our Saviour obeyed God all the way, from the womb to the Cross, because He first loved us. And there was nothing He wouldn’t do to break the chains of oppression, shame, sin, humiliation, grief and darkness over us. Indeed, there was nothing easy about Jesus’ birth, His life, His call, and His eventual sacrifice.

This gives us something to think about before we dismiss gift-giving at Christmas. The giver is always the initiator who makes the first move, and not merely a responder who reciprocates with like action. Some of us may need to give the gift of an apology, the gift of honesty, or the gift of entering what another person is going through and showing that we are there for them. The simple gift of homemade pastries, cards, and decorations can deliver human comfort to uplift someone who is submerged in life’s challenges. There are many gifts that the stores do not sell but they are gifts that matter. So, we must keep giving gifts: only, do it differently and thoughtfully.

2.SHARE ABOUT GOD’S POWER, IN HIS PLAN & PURPOSE

We can say that the Christmas festivities symbolize only the wrappers on the outside of the gifts that we give. The true gift is Jesus in our lives. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). It is a relational gift that can only be given through human connections. 

Do not doubt even for a moment that God wants to do something in our lives through each other.  Nothing connects people quicker than shared pain and suffering. Often, the only thing that stands in the way of us enjoying a healthy connection with others is not nature but social skills. Habitually keeping people out is self-sabotaging and undermines God’s purpose being fulfilled in our lives. Do not forget that we are not solo actors in God’s narratives: He also sends people into our lives, each playing their part in HIs sovereign plan and purpose for us. 

As Christmas comes round each year, there is something eternal about sharing God’s power to transform lives, to comfort, to restore order and to bring healing. There is an expectancy of miracles, love and reconciliation at Christmas that is inexplicable even to non-believers. Incredulous and unfathomable as it was to Mary about her virgin conception, every detail surrounding Jesus’ conception and up to His birth did not happen by chance. As such, the angel’s only assurance to her was, “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37 NKJV). Translated, it means that God would work everything out for good. And He did.

3.SHARE ABOUT MARY’S SUBMISSION AND TRUST IN GOD

Let’s be honest: it is not easy to trust God. When the unpleasant side effects of treatment are the all-consuming reality you face and you feel as though your faith has dissipated. When life throws you in the deep end and you are surprised that people disappear because they are uncomfortable there. When Mary was first told that she was highly favoured and then, that she would be carrying a child supernaturally conceived. Imagine the bewilderment and the flurry of questions that must have raced through her mind! The angel gave her no details in advance about how things would pan out for her, yet, she simply answered, “I am the Lord’s servant… may your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:28, 38). 

There was no er, erm, but or any reluctance. Though perplexed, Mary submitted. She was not submitting to facts, or to a feeling of confidence but to God. Instinctively, she submitted to being a vessel for God’s purpose. Not once did she mention her concerns about obtaining her parents’ permission or Joseph’s consent, but simply, “I am the Lord’s servant… may your word to me be fulfilled.”

Indeed, our individual response and submission to God does not require a consensus! What changes would it take for us to submit to God and trust Him?

Finally, this Christmas, let's bring the True Gift and the True Giver to others so that they will see God’s power, His plans and purpose played out in our lives. Like Mary, let’s be willing vessels for God to fulfill His purpose and display His glory.

May your Christmas be purposefully different this year!

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 14 December 2024.