Day 2: It’s a Brand New Day not a Birthday
I have heard again and again that the 25th of December is not Jesus’ actual birthday. Sometimes I wonder why some people are just knowing this for a fact. This information has been in circulation for years. However, we still choose to celebrate Christmas. Some people even go further to set the date at sometimes in September. But when we realise that we are not celebrating a birthday, we would care less about the accurate day and cling to the core of the season.
Christmas is not a birthday, it is a brand new day and we begin to rejoice when we awake to that reality. We do not all awake to a brand new day at the same time. We do not come upon this realization at the same time, but whenever we do, joy fills our heart for what the day brings. This is the same with Christmas. Christmas brings joy to the world, it brings joy to the heavens too. It brings peace to men of goodwill.
Christmas is the moment that the light dawns upon those who walk in darkness Isaiah 9:2. It is the moment when the promise of restoration, redemption and reinstating man to the perfect will of God begins.
It is what we do not the circumstances
I do agree that this particular period Christmas is celebrated has a non-christian origin. some say it is idolatrous and others say it is purely a political strategy to pacify the majority. Whatever the case is, we are no longer constrained by the circumstances. It began with what was handed to us. Now, it is about what we have chosen to do.
Babylon was a place of captivity and the natural reaction would be to mourn and look forward to freedom. But God warned those who decided to sulk in this self-designed mourning to accept this new reality and live their lives (Jer 29:4–9). There are so many other examples of not having a choice in the beginning, but we always have the chance to decide what we want to do.
The prison cell is not a place to rejoice and praise God. It is a place to curse God and die. It is a place where men lose hope. But for Paul and Silas, it wasn’t so. They worshiped from the depths of their hearts. What happened afterward is not really a concern for today. My emphasis is even though the environment or circumstances are highly idolatrous or political, what we make of it is the most important.
More in the 12 Days of Christmas Series
- Day 1: The Seed of the Woman
- Day 2: It’s a Brand New Day not a Birthday (You are here)
- Day 3: All Things are Working Together
- Day 4: Christmas is About A King
- Day 5: The Wonderful Counsellor
- Day 6: The Wonderful Counsellor II
- Day 7: The Everlasting Father
- Day 8: The Everlasting Father II
- Day 9: The Mighty God
- Day 10: The Prince of Peace
- Day 11: A Personal Christmas
- Day 12: God’s Purpose Keeps Us Alive
