Have You Received Jesus as Your Saviour? He is God’s Special Gift to You.

It’s that time of year again. The season of gifts giving. To some people it’s the season of forgiveness, gratitude to God, merry making with friends and family. To some, it’s the time to enjoy special delicacies, which they only enjoyed on Christmas. If you’re a typical Ghanaian born before the 90’s, you’ll probably remember fanta and coke, which were the official drinks for the Christmas season. Even jollof rice, rice and stew and all rice related meals which has become a daily meal today used to be the special meal for the season. The way we celebrated the season showed how special and unique it was from the many birthdays we celebrate throughout the year.

During Christmas, the children would move out with special meals to be delivered to distant relatives. And when returning they’ll come with the meal prepared by the family they visited. So, it was more about giving and receiving gifts from each other. It was always an exciting experience on Christmas day.

But times have indeed changed. The way Christmas was celebrated many years ago is different from today. You don’t see the same excitement people had about the season many years ago. Rice and stew or jollof is a daily meal. And the adored fanta and coke are drinks children take to school everyday. Those things that seemed to make the occasion special have disappeared with the years.

But one thing still remains the same, and unchanged. And that is, the reason for the celebration. The story of the birth of a Savior; Jesus Christ. The special gift of God to man. Growing up, my Sunday school teacher told me Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. So as kids we saw it as a birthday party for Jesus and would want to put on the best dress and shoes on that special day.

With all that has happened and still happening in the world, the constant changes we experience and the likes, there seems to be many who enjoyed or enjoy the celebrations without the man Jesus Christ. We’re more interested in the fun aspects and leaving out the essence.

The Birth of Jesus

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!

What Does This Mean to You?

What does the story of Jesus’ birth mean to you?

Have you ever paused for a while to wonder why Jesus was born?

The angel who broke the good news to the shepherds told them the child is the Savior of man. Yes the Savior of mankind.

One of the most popular scripture in the Bible is John 3:16 which reads, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” This is a scripture most people know very well, but how many of us have responded to the invitation? It’s an invitation to all mankind to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved.

But saved from what? Well, because, everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. For sin pays its wage — death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

And this is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

So, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ is something that should point you to Him. It’s a time to give praise and thanks to God for giving us Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus brought good tidings to all men; hope of salvation. Many of us use this occasion to indulge in many acts contrary to God’s expression of love. We have made the celebration turn from the focus on God’s love to just an occasion for giving gifts to friends and family. The excitement of spending some time with your loved ones sometimes make us forget the one whose love gave us life.

Christmas ought to be a time of reflection on the love of God. We must use this time to reflect on what we have done with the gift God gave us many years ago — giving us Jesus Christ.

God gave us Jesus as a sign of His unfailing love. Have you received Him? And what have you got to show for accepting God’s gift to you?

Show some love, give a gift to someone.

References:
Matthew 1:18–24 Luke 2:1–14 1 John 4:10