It is significant that in the Christmas story John the Baptist is born first.
This is because he brings the message of baptism and repentance – that we
must turn away from evil before we can turn toward the Lord’s goodness and
really know Him. Only with the new light of truth that came with the Lord
being born of earth can we see evil for what it is and shun it.
The gift of Christmas is that we can all get to heaven if we live the life of
heaven. But John’s message is prerequisite: we must repent – be born again –
before we can enter.
The Lord came into the world because people had forgotten Him and did
not know Him. Sadly, this is still true. That is why we need Christmas – every
year – and why the Christmas story in the Word is written in the present tense.
“For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” He still is
coming to be born in our hearts – every Christmas, every day.
The Lord came into the world to remove hell from angels and people, and to glorify
His Human. He brought hell under control and opened heaven so that from then
on He could be present with people on earth, and save those who lived according to
His commandments. Consequently, the Lord could regenerate and save them, for
those who are regenerated are saved. Without the Lord’s coming no one could have
been regenerated. (True Christian Religion 579)
Herod is such a counterpoint to the joy of the Christmas story that we
often choose to ignore him. He looms menacingly over the innocence and
glory of all that we love. But this is what evil does. The enduring challenge of
our Christmas celebration is to stand up to the evil in the world – and in our
own lives – so that we can know the true joy of Christmas. And we have the
enduring lesson of Jesus showing us how to confront the hells and triumph
over temptation.
This is what the Lord’s coming on earth accomplished. It opens a pathway
for us to salvation and heaven – with John the Baptist first telling us to shun
evil so we can fully know and love God, then Jesus telling us to love God and
our neighbor first, not ourselves.
Talk of repentance and shunning evil may seem counter to the Christmas
message of peace and happiness, but this is what makes peace and happiness
possible.
The ultimate gift of Christmas is that the Lord’s unconditional loving
presence is not just something that visited the world 2,000 years ago, but is
with us constantly still – every day.
(BMH)
christmas present: scrooge and the grinch
Christmas may be all about joy and happiness, but its dark and somber
side extends well beyond John the Baptist and Herod. Two of the more iconic
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