I love Christmas. I was thinking aloud the other day with my husband about why I love Christmas so much. It was not a great thing when I was little. There were no family traditions to carry on, no Christmas story, no joy. I guess when I grew up and figured out what Christmas was about - true giving, it just struck something in me and I have created my own family traditions. I love the joy of the season. I love searching for the "perfect" gift to bring a smile to someones face. I love the baking. I love the get-togethers. I love how even people that may be not so nice the rest of the year are usually nice at Christmas. And I love that Jesus came to earth in the form of a human to save me. I know that Christmas is not really when Jesus came to earth. I know that non-Christians love to point that out as another inconsistency in their seemingly endless list of reasons why being a Christian is not for them. But it has nothing to do with the actual day and everything to do with the actual events. And I am sorry if people will not see that, or hear the words, or accept Jesus whose name, Yeshua in Hebrew, means Salvation.
For some reason this year, the Christmas story struck me anew. In Luke 2:10, the angel says to the shepherds "Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people." Jesus did not come as salvation only for the Jewish people. He came for all people. When I heard those words from my pastor this weekend, I got chill bumps, as I realized the plan from the beginning was for all people. It wasn't changed when his own people would not accept him. God wanted all of us to know Him, wanted all of us to have fellowship with Him, wanted all of us to experience Jesus as the Salvation of our own personal lives. That is absolutely amazing to me. So thank you Jesus for being Salvation and for loving me and for sharing yourself with our world.
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