# CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS ON THE LOVE OF GOD ## Introduction Good morning church. I am delighted to see you in church. I welcome you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I can see that we are all in festive mood as today is Christmas eve. Therefore, this is not the time for lengthy teachings about the theology of Christmas. About three weeks ago, during the Operation Declare and Decree service, I mentioned to you that the Advent season had begun. Now we are right at the end of the season. This morning, we shall reflect on the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. Specifically, our reflection will focus on the love of God. The message is titled, 'Christmas Reflections on the Love of God.' ## Background Let us start the exhortation this morning by reminding ourselves of a major fact about Christmas. It is an important celebration, an event for the whole world irrespective of religion or nationality. Simply put, the world dates events and history majorly by the birth of Christ. History is dated BC, meaning 'Before Christ,' and A.D. which stands for Anno Domini and is a label for numbering years after Jesus Christ was born. Another background fact that I want to also bring to your attention is the fact that the history and evolution of Christmas has evolved over time. On the night Jesus was born something spectacular took place. The village of Bethlehem had the most spectacular sound-and-light shows in human history. The very first Christmas carol was sung and there was a visible divine radiance. If we fast forward to our time about two thousand plus years later, we still have the tradition of sound-and-light in form of Christmas carols and decorations. But all in all, they are pale in comparison to what the shepherd and those in their environment saw on that first Christmas. ## The Date of Christmas Somewhere along the way between that first Christmas and now, the date of the birth of Christ was changed by man, actually by the Roman Catholic Church. The truth of the matter is that even though we celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, the internal evidence from the Bible shows that Jesus was born sometime in the month of September or October. The adoption of December 25th as the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus has an interesting story. In the first four centuries in Europe, there was this annual pagan fertility custom celebration held for a few days starting December 25th. One aspect of this fertility celebration is the worship of the Sun as a god. In 595 A.D, Pope Gregory sent a missionary called Augustine to England to lead a mission to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons to the Christian faith. Despite his best efforts, however, the people would not be weaned off this indulgent festival of worshiping the Sun. So Augustine asked Pope Gregory, "What can I do about it?" Pope Gregory virtually said, "If you can't beat them, join them." The Pope instructed Augustine to turn the pagan activities 180 degrees and make them Christian. This was how December 25th was then adopted as the official birthday of Jesus Christ. Now you know that anybody who challenges you that Christmas is a pagan worship activity is only trying to twist history. Yes, December 25th was the day the pagan Anglo-Saxon started their annual fertility custom activities, but the Church turned the negative to positive. What we are celebrating on Christmas is God's intervention in the history of man by sending His only begotten Son on a Salvation mission: *"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"* (John 3:16). From this very famous Bible verse we can see clearly that the divine intervention of Jesus through His birth and Ministry on earth was motivated by the great love of God. ## Incarnation In order for us to appreciate this love, I need to point out that the birth of Jesus into this world is also a key doctrine of the church. It is called incarnation - God became flesh. It is very easy to ignore the stunning reality that Christmas is really about the incarnation of Jesus. Let me briefly explain the need for, and the wonder of, incarnation. Why should Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, lay aside His position in heaven, a place where there is continuous praise and perpetual peace, for a dying and corrupt world as ours? The short answer is that ever since man lost the direct fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden, all efforts through the prophets' sign and wonders that were sent to reconcile man to God failed because of our carnal nature. Thus the gulf between God and man grew wider and wider. As the gulf widened, the perception of man about God got more distorted and far away from the truth. Some in this period saw God as an impersonal force, a deity which cannot have anything to do with creatures. God was also seen as a stern, capricious being competing with man. To be sure, God has given man partial but certain revelation about Himself through His work in nature, which man often ignores. For example, when you study Astronomy, you will know that our earth is just one tiny ball in the zillions of terrestrial balls all moving in the same paths and pattern over the ages. This tells you that there is God who is orderly and not a God of chaos. Despite these facts revealed to man over the ages, many still have wrong view about our God. Therefore, at the appointed time, God decided to drive home the truth about Himself. Since the messages sent through prophets, and the evidence found in nature, had failed to change man, God decided on incarnation. In other words, out of His love for man, He came down to our level so that we may first and foremost know the truth. When Jesus was before Pilate, He mentioned that one of the objectives of His mission was to let man know the truth about God: *"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me"* (John 18:37). The partial revelation of God through the work of nature and His prophets proved not enough to fully revealed the truth about God. We need more; the full revelation about God is seen in Jesus. When you see and know Jesus, then you know God. *"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known"* (John 1:18). What this means is that as you celebrate Christmas, as we enjoy Christmas carols, do our shopping, accept and give gifts, we must be conscious of the fact that the process of getting humanity, and by inference you, out of darkness into light started on that first Christmas day. ## Conclusion As we go home this Christmas day, I beseech you to reflect on the love of God that made the second person in the Trinity become poor just for your sake so that you may become rich. I want you to know that you are so privileged as you are part of the cast in the greatest story ever told. This is all because of God's love for you. In accordance with the inspired theme for our Church this last month of the year, we embarked on a 'Journey of Love' this advent season. In reality, that 'Journey of Love' has been on for generations before us when baby Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. The journey will continue for a long time to come if Jesus tarries His second coming. Merry Christmas to you all and wishing you a prosperous New Year ahead. Amen.