Every December, hundreds of millions, even billions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus. Throughout history, no one's birth has been celebrated as widely as Jesus. In general, we are happy when friends remember and celebrate our birthdays. Do you think Jesus is happy with the Christmas that are celebrated everywhere? Not necessarily. Christmas is now celebrated not only by Christians. People in the world who do not know who the real Jesus is also decorate their shops to attract more visitors. Even in bars and nightclubs, they don't miss putting up Christmas trees and playing Christmas songs. There are people who celebrate Christmas in bed because they are sick. But there are those who in bed indulge in their lusts. There are those who celebrate Christmas in church worshiping God, but not a few who get drunk and party hard.
Many people celebrate Christmas but do not know the true meaning of Christmas. For them, Christmas is identical with Santa Claus, with shopping, with having fun, with the holiday season only. So, the Christmas celebration has lost its meaning. That's why this evening we will return to very basic things, namely what the true meaning of Christmas is.
Let's read John 3:16 – “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.” This verse has been a great blessing, leading to salvation for many people, including myself. Martin Luther called this verse “the miniature gospel.” Some call it “the gospel in a nutshell,” “a love letter from God written in blood and addressed to all.” If there is a verse that Satan wants to get rid of, this is definitely the verse he chooses. This verse touches our hearts. This verse shows the true meaning of Christmas.
There are three parts of this verse that we will discuss. First, this verse begins with the basic reason why the Son of God came to the world: "Because God so loved the world/humans." The Bible not only says that God loves us, but that God loves us so much. There are people born and growing up amidst families who love them. Their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties love them. Praise the Lord for them. But there are those who since childhood experience rejection, insults, unfair treatment, hatred, etc. No matter what your life experience is, know that God loves you. He loves you very much. Even if you have done bad things, which are very embarrassing, God still loves you. The word of God does not say "For God so loves those who are good," but to the world, this refers to all humans created by Him.
Abraham Maslow, in his writing entitled "A Theory of Human Motivation" states that humans not only need physical needs and a sense of security, but also love. There is a mother who wrote this letter to Dr. Randal Wright. “I am 80 years old, born in into a good family. My grandmother was the daughter of a prominent leader, but I never heard grandma say the word love. My mother was the second of eight children. I was the second of the three. I never saw my mother and father hug or kiss. I was raised during the depression. My father was a traveling salesman. He would sign his letters, “oodles of love” but that was the only time I ever heard or read that word. My mother died at 97. I visited her every day for the last seven years. She never said, “I love you” once, and I never said it to her. Mother had never ever hugged or kissed me. I kissed her casket -- first time. I am the mother of five sons and one mentally handicapped daughter. She is the only one I can hug and kiss. My husband was very starved for any physical affection too -- he took his own life. All of this I now realize that I was starved for some physical affection. Keep teaching this message. Thank you!”
Many people do not get the love like this mother and her husband. Because they do not know God's love, they look for it in the wrong things: alcohol, drugs, or free sex. They usually grow up to be hard, rigid, have little feelings for others, and are selfish. Some are even cruel like what happened to Nicky Cruz who was born in Puerto Rico. His parents were devil worshipers. When he was little, he was often beaten by his father. As a result, he grew up to be a bitter teenager, full of anger and hatred. When he was 15 years old, his parents sent him to New York to live with his older brother. But he preferred to live on the streets and join the most feared gang in Brooklyn, the Mau Maus. Because he was good at fighting and very sadistic, he finally became the leader of a very powerful gang.
One day David Wilkerson preached the gospel to his area. When he talked about God's love, Nick mocked him. In his life there was no dictionary of love. He did not know what love was. When they met again, David talked about God's love to Nick. He was so annoyed that he slapped the evangelist's face. He spat on him and threatened that if David continued to talk about God's love, he would kill him. But David Wilkerson never tired of talking about God's love. Until one day Nick experienced the touch of the Holy Spirit. He opened his heart to receive the love of Christ in his life. Since then, Nicky Cruz has experienced an extraordinary change. The person who was once full of anger and hatred turned into an instrument of Christ's love. Until today he serves hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young men who have not known the love of Christ like he used to.
The second part talks about the evidence of God's love. The word of God says, "that He gave His only Son." Some time ago there was a mother who was sentenced because her child died. She protested to the judge. She said: "I loved my child. How can I be accused of murder? I did nothing to him!" The judge said: "Exactly! That was why you are sentenced. If you loved your child, you would have done something for him. Your son died because you let him starve and got sick until he died." Even though the mother claimed that she loved her son, actually she didn’t. Why? Because she didn’t do anything to help her son. Praise God, God did not only say from heaven through His prophets that He loves humans while humanity struggles alone to endure suffering and torment because of sin and eventually go to hell. Because of His great love for mankind, He sent the Lord Jesus, His only Son, to come to the world to atone for the sins of mankind.
Today we celebrate Christmas with joy. But do we realize that to come to the world Jesus made a great sacrifice. Why? Because that means He who is the Creator became one of His own creations. One of the missionaries respected by the world is Albert Schweitzer. He is a scholar in the fields of music, language, and philosophy. He has a Ph.D. in theology. When he was 30 years old, he was called to become a missionary in Lambarene, in West Africa (Gabon). What was needed there was the health sector. To prepare himself he studied again for 7 years and after getting a Doctorate in Medicine he left for Africa. Imagine, my friends, someone as smart as him devoted himself to serving in Africa. Not for one or two years, but for 41 years. Wow, what an extraordinary sacrifice!
But do we realize that what Jesus did was much greater than Albert Schweitzer. Jesus is the Creator of the universe who became human. That means He who is infinite became finite. As God, He is a Spirit who is not limited by space and time. But when He became a human being, He was limited by His physical body. He moved limited by space and time. It is estimated that Jesus never traveled more than 200 miles in His entire life. Those who have been imprisoned will be able to better understand the meaning of Jesus' limitations! Then from the Owner of everything to being poor. Jesus is the Owner of everything in the universe. But when He became a human being, He had nothing. So, from birth to death, He borrowed other people's possessions. When He was born, He borrowed a stable, when He served, He lived in other people's homes, when He went to Jerusalem, He borrowed someone's donkey, when He had the Last Supper, He borrowed someone's room, until when He died He was buried in someone else's grave.
It is very true what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." When I studied at the seminary in Indonesia, I did not know where God would send/place me, whether in the city, in the village, in Indonesia or abroad. What I did was I prepared myself in case God would send me to serve in the villages. Therefore, during the school holidays, I and some friends went on a mission trip to Mount Wilis (in East Java). Even though I was only 20 years old, I felt that the trip was very difficult because every day we had to walk for hours, up and downhill. Sometimes through slippery paths because of the rain; if you slipped, you could fall into a canyon.
Life in the countryside was also very simple. We sometimes slept only on mats; there was no bathroom. There I could feel how difficult it is to live in different conditions. Not to mention the food. When we were served food, I asked, "What is that?" "It’s … meat, sir. It's delicious, it can warm the body!" said the owner of the house. I had never eaten …’s meat before and I also had allergies to certain foods (so I always brought allergy pills with me). That night I struggled whether to eat or not. In order not to disappoint the owner of the house, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I ate. Praise God that night I was able to get through it. But the next morning, at noon, it turned out that there was still a lot of leftover meat, so they served it again. But since then, my allergy had been cured.
The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus to become a human reached its peak when He, who was eternal, had to experience death as a human. Brothers and sisters, Jesus' sacrifice is the greatest sacrifice that exceeds all human sacrifices. He did all this to show how great His love was for humans.
The third part is the goal or result of His love. It says, "that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." The purpose of Jesus' coming is to save us from eternal destruction. God's word says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) If Jesus did not come, all mankind will be headed for eternal death in hell. But praise God in Romans 6:23 there is a continuation "but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless work adorning the walls of their family estate. One day, the nation was at war and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His son had died. Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with sadness. The joy of the season had vanished with the death of his son. On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. He opened the door and a soldier, with a large package in his hands greeted him, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.”
The soldier mentioned that he was an artist and then gave the old man the package. It was a portrait of the man’s son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man’s face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man hung the portrait over the fireplace, pushing aside millions of dollars’ worth of art. His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given. The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces of art for which museums around the world clamor. Half a year later, the old man died. The art world waited with anticipation for the upcoming auction. According to the will of the old man, all the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled that day.
The auction began with a painting that was not on anyone’s museum list. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” No one spoke. Finally someone said, “Who cares about that painting. It’s just a picture of his son. Let’s move on to the good stuff.” The auctioneer responded, “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the son?” Finally, a neighbor of the old man offered $50 dollars. “That’s all I have. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.” The auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice…gone.” The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room, and someone exclaimed, “Now we can bid on the real treasures!” The auctioneer looked at the room filled with people and announced that the auction was over. Everyone was stunned. Someone spoke up and said, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a painting of someone’s son. There are millions of dollars’ worth of art here! What’s going on?” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the Father, whoever takes the son…gets it all.”
So, the neighbor who bought the painting of the son for $50, got all the paintings that the father owned that were worth millions of dollars. Do you know, if you accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you will get eternal life, which is of inestimable value that cannot be bought or obtained by any means. “For God loved us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son. So that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.” That is the true meaning of Christmas celebrations. Have you accepted Jesus, the Son of God, as your Lord and Savior? Celebrating Christmas without Jesus in your heart is a waste of time. For brothers and sisters who have received God's love and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, let's love Him more.
Let's live to please our heavenly Father. Let's witness His wonderful love to those around us. May God help us all. Merry Christmas!
