The Greatest Birthday Wish
By Caron Cline
Burke County
We have officially entered the season that the songwriter describes as ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. The National Retail Federation is estimating that Americans will spend between $979.5 and 989 billion dollars on shopping this year with the majority being spent on Christmas.
Hundreds of thousands of letters will be mailed to the North Pole for Santa Claus this year by children asking for a large variety of material gifts which they will become dissatisfied with in a short period of time. ‘Peace on earth and goodwill toward men’ quickly dissipates in the hustle and bustle of finding just the ‘perfect’ gift for friends and family. Billions of dollars spent on inanimate objects are quickly ignored and discarded. When will we learn that the treasure of this world can never satisfy the soul?
Focusing on the true meaning of Christmas is the remedy for disappointment and seasonal burnout. The first Christmas, in the village of Bethlehem, around 4 BC, was quite different from our celebrations in the 21st century. Mary and Joseph were pressured into traveling to Bethlehem from Nazareth to register for a new census by decree of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. The timing could not have been worse! This 90-mile, four-day journey was exhausting, however, the reality of no available lodging was even more overwhelming. Soon a stable was offered as shelter and shortly the unthinkable happened; Mary found herself in the grip of childbirth.
God’s only begotten Son was born in less-than-desirable circumstances among the donkeys, cows, and sheep. Within hours of His birth, the lowliest members of society, shepherds, proved to be His first visitors. Angels had announced the birth of the Savior of the world to these men, directing them to the city of David where they would find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger. Once they saw Jesus with their own eyes, they spread the good news far and wide. The long-awaited Messiah had come, and His birth was the beginning of what would become a New Covenant of grace, peace, and joy for all mankind.
How can we return to a more simplistic celebration of the Savior’s birth? What would Jesus desire for His birthday? The answer is found in Matthew 25. The latter part of the chapter is a picture of the final judgment of the nations when Christ will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:33-40 describes the righteous acts of His followers, which include feeding the hungry, offering drink to the thirsty, showing kindness to strangers, clothing the poor, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison. These deeds done for others are rewarded by the Lord as if they were personally done for Him.
The greatest gifts in the eyes of our Lord are those that exhibit the depth of His love to the hurting, the oppressed, and the hopeless. May we bless the Lord this Christmas season by blessing others. It’s His greatest birthday wish!
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Caron is a follower of Jesus Christ and a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Morganton, NC. She loves to teach the word of God.
Her desire is to see every believer grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
You can read more Christian News from Caron HERE.
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