Seems like the world has always struggled with “Christmas”…that is, the birth of the prophesied God-man who was born to deliver mankind from hell.  The date, the name, the trappings, the traditions, the songs, the movies of the season have always obscured and misdirected the reason why the Son of God was born.  But while Christmas was primarily misdirected when I was a kid growing up, now it’s different.  There’s still misdirection, but there is a new spirit regarding Christmas that is more sinister.  There is actually a demonic spirit that hates any reference to the birth of the Savior.  Today’s pagan culture has a vitriol hatred for the idea that the birth of Jesus was necessary to save from sin and hell.  Satan has always attempted to instigate this kind of hatred for Christ, but now it’s coming out of the shadows and this hatred is becoming more evident in the distain our cultural, political, academic leaders have for the biblical meaning of Christ’s birth.  They hate any religious overtones regarding a celebration of Christ’s birth and insist it be called “Holiday Season.”   Any vestiges of the true implications of Christ’s birth are now relegated to sentimentalism and unsophistication.  In the devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers pins down the reason for Christ’s advent…and it’s not sentimental nor is it unsophisticated:  

“Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ came. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery.

The calling of a New Testament Christian is to expose sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior. Consequently, he cannot always be charming and friendly, but must be willing to be stern to accomplish major surgery. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful speeches. 

Chambers’ writing this morning is a blueprint of how we should understand and present Christmas to our families and friends.  Christ was born to save us from our sin and give us eternal life.  The cross is the reason.  His atonement is our reason for joy and eternal celebration.  My prayer for you and me this morning is this:  Lord, in our world of hate and rebellion toward You, let us use the opportunity of “Christmas” to share the “good news” that the Savior was born.  Amen.