CHRISTmas had to come. It couldn’t be avoided. No, not the tree, parties and decorations, but the reason Christians celebrate Christmas. We commemorate the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Why did CHRISTmas have to come? Because God planned for Easter! Today’s Easter conveys the Old Testament version of Passover, where people sacrificed a perfect lamb yearly for the sins of the people. Jesus fulfilled that sacrifice once for all so today we celebrate Easter for what He did for us. But the birth of Jesus had to come before His death and resurrection, so that the star over the place where Jesus lived when the wise men saw him became the sword that pierced his side when he died.

This perfect Baby born without inherited sin lived a perfect life so He could become the ransom for our salvation when we trust Him, in other words our forever Passover Lamb. By His death and resurrection, you and I become children of Holy God while on earth and can talk to Him daily. Then we’ll live with Him eternally after we die.

Before we can do that, we feel true sorrow for turning away from God and anything we’ve done against people. But being sorry isn’t enough. Then we must change our actions to things that honor God and help people. When Jesus is our Savior and Lord, He puts that desire in our hearts so that we don’t struggle to do these things. Not that they always come naturally, but we desire to do them more than we don’t want to obey God so we win that battle.

Yes, the tree, decorations and parties remain fun but believers really celebrate Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!